Holographic design of a two-dimensional photonic crystal of square lattice with pincushion columns and large complete band gaps

In holographic fabrication of photonic crystals the shape and size of the dielectric columns or particles ("atoms") are determined by the isointensity surfaces of the interference field. Therefore their photonic band gap (PBG) properties are closely related to their fabrication design. As an example, we have investigated the PBGs of a kind of holographically formed two-dimensional (2-D) square lattice with pincushion columns rotated by 45 degrees, and shown that this structure has complete PBGs in a wide range of dielectric contrast comparable to or even larger than those of the same lattice with square columns reported before. The optical design for making this structure is also given. This work may demonstrate the unique feature and advantages of photonic crystals made by holographic method and provide a guideline for their design and experimental fabrication. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.