Absolute Continuity of the Spectrum of the Periodic Maxwell Operator in a Layer

The Maxwell operator in a layer is studied. It is assumed that the electric permittivity (x) and the magnetic permeability (x)are periodic along the layer. On the boundary of the layer, conditions of ideal conductivity are imposed. Under wide assumptions on (x) and (x), it is shown that the spectrum of the Maxwell operator is absolutely continuous. Bibliography: 10 titles.