Photonic band gaps in three-dimensional network structures with short-range order

We present a systematic study of photonic band gaps (PBGs) in three-dimensional (3D) photonic amorphous structures (PASs) with short-range order. From calculations of the density of optical states (DOS) for PASs with different topologies, we find that tetrahedrally connected dielectric networks produce the largest isotropic PBGs. Local uniformity and tetrahedral order are essential to the formation of PBGs in PASs, in addition to short-range geometric order. This work demonstrates that it is possible to create broad, isotropic PBGs for vector light fields in 3D PASs without long-range order.