Measurement of the metal nanometer layer parameters on dielectric substrates using photonic crystals based on the waveguide structures with controlled irregularity in the microwave band

The results of investigations of the possibility of utilization of microwave photonic crystals with tunable irregularity instead of a "quarter-wave" dielectric layer for measurement of parameters of metal nanometer layers on dielectric substrates are presented. It has been shown that tuning the irregularity in the periodical structure of a photonic crystal allows one to tune the range of measurable metal layer's thickness from 1 till 500 nm.