Phase delay and group velocity determination at a planar defect state in three dimensional photonic crystals

Phase sensitive optical transmission measurements have been performed on three dimensional opal-based photonic crystals containing a planar defect. From numerical derivation of the measured phase, the group velocity has been retrieved. Strong modulations in the group velocity are seen to correlate with a recovery in the transmission inside the forbidden spectral interval, demonstrating the presence of a localized defect state. Accordingly, the phase change measured across the forbidden interval doubles in the lattice containing a planar defect with respect to the defect-free crystal, as expected when introducing a localized state inside the pseudogap. All results have been modeled with a scalar wave approximation in a two band model including extinction.