Hannover 2003 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help

Q: Quantenoptik

Q V: HV V

Q V.1: Invited Talk

Friday, March 28, 2003, 11:45–12:30, E001

Photonic Crystals: Islands of Tranquility in a Noisy Vacuum? — •Willem Vos and Femius Koenderink — Complex Photonic Systems (COPS), Department of Applied Physics & MESA⁺ Research Institute, Universiteit Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands

Photonic crystals are optical materials that have an intricate 3D structure with length scales on the order of the wavelength of light. The flow of photons is controlled in a manner analogous to how electrons propagate through semiconductors. If the interaction between light and matter is strong, multiple scattering effects dominate. A main goal is the realization of a “photonic band gap”: a frequency range for which no light can propagate in any direction, resulting in radical modifications of the density of radiative states, in other words, of the vacuum fluctuations. Important consequences of photonic band gaps are the complete control over emission of light and over the propagation of light. This opens up the possibility to achieve a “cage for light”: trap photons and do with them whatever one chooses. In addition to introductory material, we will review experiments on spontaneous emission, the onset of band gaps, dispersion, and others.