Finite-difference time-domain analysis of unmagnetized plasma photonic crystals

The plasma photonic crystal is a periodic array composed of alternating thin unmagnetized (or magnetized) plasmas and dielectric materials (or vacuum). In this paper, the piecewise linear current density recursive convolution finite-difference time-domain method for the simulation of isotropic unmagnetized plasma is applied to model unmagnetized plasma photonic crystal structures. A perfectly matched layer absorbing material is used in these simulations. In time-domain, the electromagnetic propagation process of a Gaussian pulse through an unmagnetized plasma photonic crystal is investigated. In frequency-domain, the reflection and transmission coefficients through unmagnetized plasma photonic crystals are computed and their dependence on plasma frequency, plasma thickness, collision frequency is studied. The results show theoretically that the electromagnetic bandgaps of unmagnetized plasma photonic crystals are tuned by the plasma parameters. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006.