Michael Boss with Kathy Kash

Investigation of Photonic Bandgap Structures 

Photonic crystals are structures involving 2 or more media arranged in such a way as to have 1, 2 or 3 dimensional symmetry. Due to the different dielectric constants of the varying materials, photonic bandgaps can arise in the material. These bandgaps prohibit extended modes of photons in a certain frequency range. This can be exploited in devices in order to control the flow of light in a material. Photonic crystals can be used to make dielectric mirrors, resonant cavities, and waveguides – these represent just a few of their possible applications.

Using Maxwell’s equations, photonic band gap structures can be modeled by a computer before actual fabrication. Given desired properties, a photonic crystal can be devised by computer, its modeled properties compared to those desired, and then fabricated. This project will focus on modeling 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D photonic crystals, and then actually fabricating the structures though techniques such as ultraviolet lithography. The properties of this construction will then be compared to those predicted by the computer model.