Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Using Microwave and Macroscopic Samples of Dielectric Solids to Study the Photonic Properties of Disordered Photonic Bandgap Materials
Published on: September 26, 2014
On the universality of the frequency spectrum and band-gap optimization of quasicrystalline-generated structured rods
Lorenzo Morini1, Zafer Gökay Tetik1, Gal Shmuel2
1School of Engineering, Cardiff University, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, Wales, UK.
Abstract:
The dynamical properties of periodic two-component phononic rods, whose elementary cells are generated adopting the Fibonacci substitution rules, are studied through the recently introduced method of the toroidal manifold. The method allows all band gaps and pass bands featuring the frequency spectrum to be represented in a compact form with a frequency-dependent flow line on the surface describing their ordered sequence. The flow lines on the torus can be either closed or open: in the former case, (i) the frequency spectrum is periodic and the elementary cell corresponds to a canonical configuration, (ii) the band gap density depends on the lengths of the two phases; in the latter, the flow lines cover ergodically the torus and the band gap density is independent of those lengths. It is then shown how the proposed compact description of the spectrum can be exploited (i) to find the widest band gap for a given configuration and (ii) to optimize the layout of the elementary cell in order to maximize the low-frequency band gap. The scaling property of the frequency spectrum, that is a distinctive feature of quasicrystalline-generated phononic media, is also confirmed by inspecting band-gap/pass-band regions on the torus for the elementary cells of different Fibonacci orders. This article is part of the theme issue 'Modelling of dynamic phenomena and localization in structured media (part 2)'.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Energy Bands in Solids
Band Formation:
When atoms are brought close together, as in a solid, these discrete energy levels begin to split due to the overlap of electron orbitals from adjacent atoms. This split occurs because of the Pauli exclusion principle, which states...
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Band Theory
The energy difference between these bands is known as the band gap.
Conductor, Semiconductor,...
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...

