Robust Photonic Band Gap from Tunable Scatterers

W. Y. Zhang; X. Y. Lei; Z. L. Wang; D. G. Zheng; W. Y. Tam; C. T. Chan; Ping Sheng

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.2853

Robust Photonic Band Gap from Tunable Scatterers

W. Y. Zhang, X. Y. Lei, Z. L. Wang, D. G. Zheng, W. Y. Tam, C. T. Chan, and Ping Sheng

Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 2853 – Published 27 March 2000

Abstract

We show theoretically and experimentally that photonic band gaps can be realized using metal or metal-coated spheres as building blocks. Robust photonic gaps exist in any periodic structure built from such spheres when the filling ratio of the spheres exceeds a threshold. The frequency and the size of the gaps depend on the local order rather than on the symmetry or the global long range order. Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained in the microwave regime. Calculations show that the approach can be scaled up to optical frequencies even in the presence of absorption.

Received 21 July 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.2853

Authors & Affiliations

W. Y. Zhang^*, X. Y. Lei^†, Z. L. Wang^‡, D. G. Zheng^§, W. Y. Tam, C. T. Chan, and Ping Sheng

Department of Physics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

^*Permanent address: National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
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^§Present address: Chemistry Department, Shangrao Teacher's College, Shangrao, Jiangxi 334001, China.