A simple description for waveguiding in photonic bandgap materials

Abstract

Waveguides formed from planar slabs of photonic bandgap materials are considered. The slabs of PBG material are replaced by reflection planes (the reflection plane concept) to obtain an equivalent waveguide from which waveguide parameters, such as the curve for frequency versus wave number, are easily obtained. The approach is illustrated for a simple waveguide formed from two slabs of a two-dimensional PBG material - circular dielectric rods placed at the sites of a square lattice. The simple analysis based on the reflection plane concept is verified by comparison with results from a rigorous analysis that uses the finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) numerical method to solve Maxwell's equations. An experimental model is constructed for the waveguide, and measurements made using this model are compared with the theoretical results. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.