Mode localization and band-gap formation in defect-free photonic quasicrystals

Abstract

Defects in photonic crystals are local regions in which the translational symmetry is broken. The same definition can be applied to photonic quasicrystals except in this case the symmetry is the 2pi/n rotational symmetry, where n is the rotational fold number. In this context, if no such defects are present, the structure is called "defect-free". Even though photonic quasicrystal patterns can be defect-free, localized modes can still exist in such structures. These modes resemble those of a central potential that suggests that localization in photonic quasicrystals are actually "extended" modes of the rotational symmetry. A possible connection is suggested between these localized modes and short-range dependence of the photonic band gap (PBG). Such a connection implies a tight-binding description of PBG formation of photonic quasicrystals - making them more similar to electronic semiconductors than regular photonic crystals.