An ultrawideband photonic crystal antenna

We present the development of a novel ultrawideband antenna structure that uses photonic crystals as a substrate to reflect the energy normally trapped within a substrate into free space. Photonic crystals are three-dimensional periodic structures that exhibit spatial three-dimensional filter properties. In order to achieve an ultrawideband photonic crystal, two photonic crystals with different periodicities are stacked in tandem. The stop band of the photonic crystal is used as a distributed reflector of a short pulse that is generated at the surface of the crystal by photoconductively switched planar antennas.