Guest editorial: Electromagnetic crystal structures, design, synthesis, and applications

Abstract

A new paradigm has emerged in which the band structure concepts of solid-state physics are applied to electromagnetics. This has led to a profusion of scientific creativity as new forms of electromagnetic crystal structures are invented for radio and microwaves as well as for optical wavelengths. These new structures are inspired by the three-dimensional (3-D) geometry of both natural crystals and those artificial crystals that can arise only in the human imagination. These artificial electromagnetic crystals (also known as photonic crystals) are impacting the diverse domains of electromagnetics, extending from radio waves to optical wavelengths. They are bringing scientists together under a common umbrella in the fields of classical electromagnetics, solid-state band theory, semiconductor device physics, quantum optics, nanostructures, and materials science. The number of papers in this field have been growing at roughly 70% per year since the early 1990’s, and there are currently hundreds of papers per year being published on photonic crystals.