Tunneling of electromagnetic waves through a barrier with a periodic structure

The propagation of an electromagnetic wave through a barrier with a periodic structure is considered. An interesting manifestation of electromagnetic wave tunneling through a barrier with a periodic structure is revealed. Specifically, it is theoretically and experimentally shown that, when an electromagnetic wave passes through a medium with a periodic structure in the diffraction mode within a photonic band gap, the field in the medium is localized near its boundaries. Theoretical calculations have been performed for a cholesteric liquid crystal layer of finite thickness and for a 1D photonic crystal. The experiment was carried out with perfect Si single crystals in reflection from the $ (2\bar 20)$ (2\bar 20) and $ (4\bar 40)$ (4\bar 40) planes using MoK _α X rays.