| Photonic crystals (PCs) are three- or lower-dimensional periodic structures that exhibit pass and stop bands in the steady-state response. For pulse propagation through finite structures, the temporal evolution of the dispersive properties is governed by the group velocity and can be divided into three stages. The first stage is the propagation of precusors in the stop bands that establish the polarization field in the PCs. The second stage is the transient formation of the pass bands, and the third stage is the formation of the bandedges of the structure. Experiments and calculations are presented for each stage to determine the temporal evolution.; Complementary to the temporal evolution of the properties will be the spatial evolution, where the PC response is investigated as a function of the number of periods in the structure and the angle of incidence of the incoming wave. One criterion for the minimum number of periods necessary in the structure to exhibit periodic behavior will be discussed. Finally, various applications that have emerged from this work will be presented. |
