Waveguiding through a two-dimensional metallic photonic crystal

We present a two-dimensional (2D) finite-difference time domain simulation of the propagation of light through linear and bent channels in metallic photonic crystals. We took as a starting point the Bozhevolnyi experiment, consisting of the scattering of surface plasmons by a 2D structure of finitely sized periodic gold dots arranged in a triangular lattice of 400-nm period. We model injection and propagation of light through linear channels of different widths. We also study the behaviour of light in the presence of a 90 degrees bent line defect made in the structure. We show that the confinement depends on the orientation of the input and output line defects. The two cases of GammaM and GammaK orientations are considered and a spectral study for five different wavelengths is carried out.