Photonic band structure in the nearly plane wave approximation

Abstract

For photons propagating in a periodic dielectric lattice, the dispersion curve forms photonic bands separated by forbidden gaps. When the dielectric lattice deviates only slightly from being homogenous, the photonic band structure resembles the linear dispersion relation for photons folded into the first Brillouin zone, i.e., the so-called empty lattice bands. Using group theoretical technique, we calculate the splitting of the accidental degeneracies in the empty lattice bands at symmetry points for a simple cubic dielectric lattice.