Bandgap fluctuations and robustness in two-dimensional hyperuniform dielectric materials.

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Photonic band gaps (PBGs) are crucial for controlling light propagation.
• Disordered systems offer unique routes to engineer PBGs.
• Hyperuniformity and stealthiness are key parameters in designing disordered materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To numerically investigate the statistical fluctuations of PBGs in stealthy hyperuniform disordered patterns.
• To understand how stealthiness influences PBG properties like width, overlap, and appearance of multiple gaps.
• To assess the robustness of PBGs in disordered systems for practical applications.

Main Methods:

• Numerical simulations of photonic band gap formation.
• Ensemble averaging over multiple realizations of stealthy hyperuniform disordered patterns.
• Analysis of band gap frequency range, width, and overlap as a function of stealthiness parameter (χ).

Main Results:

• At low stealthiness (weak correlations), PBGs are narrow, appear over a wide frequency range, and do not overlap.
• Above a critical stealthiness (χ≳0.35), PBGs become significantly larger and overlap substantially between different system realizations.
• A second photonic band gap emerges above the critical stealthiness value.

Conclusions:

• The study reveals a transition in PBG behavior with increasing stealthiness in hyperuniform disordered systems.
• Enhanced stealthiness leads to more robust and overlapping band gaps, with the appearance of a second gap.
• Findings provide insights into the design and stability of photonic devices utilizing disordered materials.