The electromagnetic Brillouin precursor in one-dimensional photonic crystals

We have calculated the electromagnetic Brillouin precursor that arises in a one-dimensional photonic crystal that consists of two homogeneous slabs which each have a single electron resonance. This forerunner is compared with the Brillouin precursor that arises in a homogeneous double-electron resonance medium. In both types of medium, the precursor consists of the components of the applied pulse that have their frequencies below the lowest of the two electron resonances. In the inhomogeneous medium however, the slab contrast starts affecting the precursor field after a certain rise time of the precursor: its spectrum starts to peak at the geometric scattering resonances of the medium whereas minima appear at the Bragg-scattering frequencies. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.