Superprism properties in 2D polymer photonic crystals at high normal frequencies

The superprism effects of higher bands, i.e., for normal frequencies of higher than one, in two-dimensional (2D) polymer photonic crystals (PCs) are investigated. It is shown that in a polymer PC of triangular symmetry with filling factor of about 31%, the gradual transition of the hexagonal into triangular equi-frequency dispersion contours leads to a strong superprism in the 6th band at a normal frequency of 1.2. This dispersion is more prominent than those observed in the lower bands in 2D PCs. Also, this requires a lattice constant longer than the concerned wavelength. Furthermore, in a 2D polymer PC with a filling factor of about 83% a strong discontinuous superprism effect occurs at normal frequencies higher than one, which is due to an abrupt transition between two modes with the refraction angles of opposite signs. The effect can be exploited for switching applications as demonstrated in the paper. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.