Out-of-plane two-dimensional photonic band structure effects observed in the visible spectrum

We have investigated the visible-region transmission spectra of light propagating in directions which lie outside the array plane of a two-dimensional photonic crystal. These photonic crystals consist of arrays of glass rods inside a glass matrix, with periodicities comparable to the wavelengths of interest. When the propagation direction is within the array plane, attenuations corresponding to the Brillouin-zone boundaries are observed, while for out-of-plane propagation all attenuation features shift to shorter wavelengths. Interesting polarization-dependent effects appear for out-of-plane propagation.