Two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal (PC) fabrication is generally carried out by electron beam lithography (EBL). This technique is very expensive and has a low throughput because it works serially. In this paper, we report an inexpensive, fast and simple nanofabrication technique for creating nanostructures based on nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and nanosphere lithography (NSL) techniques. A monolayer of self-assembled polystyrene colloidal particle is used as a mask for dry etching of SiO2 to create periodic ordered nano-plates on glass. Then the nanopatterns are transferred by imprinting onto a polymer film or poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-coated Si substrate. Preliminary results show that this technique is a promising way to fabricate 2D photonic crystals. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.