Complete band gaps in two-dimensional photonic quasicrystals

Abstract

We introduce an optimization method to design examples of photonic quasicrystals with substantial, complete photonic band gaps; that is, a range of frequencies over which electromagnetic wave propagation is forbidden for all directions and polarizations. The method can be applied to photonic quasicrystals with arbitrary rotational symmetry; here, we illustrate the results for fivefold and eightfold symmetric quasicrystals. The optimized band gaps are highly isotropic, which may offer advantages over photonic crystals for certain applications. © 2009 The American Physical Society.