Some New Band Characteristics in One-Dimensional Plasma Dielectric Photonic Crystals

Propagation of electromagnetic waves in one-dimensional plasma dielectric photonic crystals, the superlattice structure consisting of alternating plasma and dielectric materials, is studied theoretically for oblique incidence by using the transfer matrix method. Our results show that complete photonic band gaps for all polarizations can be obtained in one-dimensional plasma dielectric photonic crystals. These structures can exhibit a new type of band or gap, for the incidence other than the normal one, near frequencies where the electric permittivity of the plasma layer changes sign. This new band or gap arises, from the dispersive properties of the plasma layer, only for transverse magnetic polarized waves, and its width increases with the increase in incident angle. This differential behavior under polarization can be utilized in the design of an efficient polarization splitter. The existence of both photonic gaps and resonance transmission bands is demonstrated for experimentally realizable structures such as double electromagnetic barriers.