Tunable one-dimensional plasma photonic crystals in dielectric barrier discharge

A tunable one-dimensional plasma photonic crystal is obtained by using a dielectric barrier discharge with two liquid electrodes. It is formed by the self-organization of the filaments, rather than that in an artificial array of electrodes. The dispersion relations of the plasma photonic crystals are calculated by solving the Helmholtz equation using a method analogous to Kronig-Penney's problem. The photonic band diagrams of the plasma photonic crystals are studied when changing the filling factor, the lattice constant, and the electron density, based on the experimental results. The critical electron density is given, beyond which the plasma photonic crystal will have a remarkable band structure. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3456520]