A flexible Bloch mode method for computing complex band structures and impedances of two-dimensional photonic crystals

Abstract

We present a flexible method that can calculate Bloch modes, complex band structures, and impedances of two-dimensional photonic crystals from scattering data produced by widely available numerical tools. The method generalizes previous work which relied on specialized multipole and FEM techniques underpinning transfer matrix methods. We describe the numerical technique for mode extraction, and apply it to calculate a complex band structure and to design two photonic crystal antireflection coatings. We do this for frequencies at which other methods fail, but which nevertheless are of significant practical interest.

9 pages, 4 figures. Source code available at https://launchpad.net/blochcode . The following article appeared in J. Appl. Phys. and may be found at http://link.aip.org/link/doi/10.1063/1.3674281 . Copyright 2011 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics