Photonic band gaps of AB3 and B3 structures of metallodielectric spheres

Using the vector-wave multiple-scattering method we have calculated the photonic band structures of AB3 and B3 crystals composed of perfect metal spheres in air. It is shown that AB3 photonic crystal contains a large photonic band gap and B3 photonic crystal has more than one gap when the filling ratio of metal spheres exceeds a threshold. The multiple photonic gaps of the B3 structure are useful in the design of optical multi-channel perfect mirrors and optical multi-band filters in the microwave regime. Photonic band-gap (PBG) crystals are dielectric materials where the dielectric constant is modulated periodically in either one, two, or all three spatial directions. The variation of the dielectric constant affects the propagating behaviours of the corresponding Bloch waves; the strongest influence occurs near the Brillouin boundaries where travelling waves are transformed into standing waves, and this results in photonic band gaps. The existence of photonic band gaps has attracted much attention in recent years because of their vast potential for applications [1–5]; it also provides new ways to control light propagation and underlying physical processes