The effect of etching interfacial layers on the absolute photonic band gap in two-dimensional photonic crystals

The photonic band structures of two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals with etched interfacial layers between air rods and the background dielectric is studied theoretically. The effect of etching interfacial layers on absolute photonic band gap (PBG) is analyzed quantitatively. Numerical calculations are carried out based on Maxwell's equations and the plane-wave expansion method. It is shown that the physical property of interfacial layers influence the absolute PBG, and the existence of interfacial layers cannot enlarge the largest absolute PBG of an ideal case without interfacial layers.