a Department of Physics and Astronomy, Microelectronics Research Center and Ames Laboratory-USDOE, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
b Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 78185, USA
Abstract:
The diamond photonic crystal with dielectric rods has been modified to enlarge the fundamental band gap. By planarizing the diamond structure and reducing the thickness of the hexagonal meshes, the band gap can be increased substantially. The band gap is 29% for a refractive index contrast of 3.6. The modified structure is amenable to fabrication at optical and infrared wavelengths using state-of-the-art silicon-processing methods. Transfer matrix calculations demonstrate a large attenuation within the band gap.