3D METALLO-DIELECTRIC PHOTONIC CRYSTALS WITH STRONG CAPACITIVE COUPLING BETWEEN METALLIC ISLANDS

We introduce a new type of metallo-dielectric photonic band gap struct ure (PEG), intentionally incorporating very strong capacitive interact ions between the periodic metallic islands. The band gaps become huge, with the lower band edge frequency being pushed down by the capacitiv e interaction between metallic islands, while the upper band edge freq uency continues to depend primarily on the lattice constant, as in nor mal PBG's. With this new type of photonic crystal, the spatial periodi city can be much smaller than the corresponding electromagnetic wavele ngth, allowing PEG structures to play a role at radio frequencies.