Study of photonic crystals at millimeter wave band

Photonic crystals (PCs), engineered material structures with periodic modulation in refractive index, have received great attention, because of their promise for revolutionizing the photonics industry. In this paper, the millimeter wave band is chosen as the frequency range to study PCs, for two reasons. PCs in the millimeter wave band can be fabricated at low cost using traditional circuit and quasi-optical techniques. In addition, compared to the microwave frequencies, millimeter waves allow for physically compact PCs and testing ranges. A few PCs are numerically analyzed using the method of moments (MOM), fabricated, and experimentally tested at W band. PCs without and with defects are examined. Bandgaps observed experimentally are correctly predicted by numerical simulation.