Abstract: According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of forming photonic crystals is provided. The method includes: forming a layer arrangement on a support substrate. The layer arrangement includes a first partial layer arrangement and a second partial layer arrangement, wherein the second partial layer arrangement is disposed over the first partial layer arrangement, wherein each partial layer arrangement comprises a first layer and a second layer, wherein the second layer is disposed over the first layer, and wherein the material of the second layer has a different etching characteristic than the material of the first layer. The method further includes removing at least one portion of the second layer and removing the first layer, wherein forming the layer arrangement occurs prior to removing the at least one portion of the second layer and the first layer.