Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 26, 2026

Using Microwave and Macroscopic Samples of Dielectric Solids to Study the Photonic Properties of Disordered Photonic Bandgap Materials
Published on: September 26, 2014
Semiclassical coupled-wave theory and its application to TE waves in one-dimensional photonic crystals
G V Morozov1, D W L Sprung, J Martorell
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1.
Abstract:
A semiclassical coupled-wave theory is developed for TE waves in one-dimensional periodic structures. The theory is used to calculate the bandwidths and reflection/transmission characteristics of such structures, as functions of the incident wave frequency. The results are in good agreement with exact numerical simulations for an arbitrary angle of incidence and for any achievable refractive index contrast on a period of the structure.
Related Concept Videos
The de Broglie Wavelength
Standing Waves in a Cavity
Electromagnetic Wave Equation
However, although electric and magnetic fields were first introduced as mathematical constructs to simplify the description of mutual forces between charges, a natural question emerges from Maxwell's equations: What...
Interference and Diffraction
The Wave Nature of Light
Electromagnetic Waves in Matter
Consider the electromagnetic wave passing through a dielectric medium. In such a case, Maxwell's equations get modified. In Ampere's law, ε0 , the dielectric permittivity of free space is replaced with ε, the permittivity of dielectric. Also, the vacuum permeability μ0 is replaced by the permeability of the medium, μ.
Furthermore, the...

