Controlled excitation of electromagnetic band-gap line and point defect modes at microwave frequencies

We report on the controlled excitation of line and point defect modes in a two-dimensional hexagonal electromagnetic band-gap structure made of rods of dielectric material (aluminium oxide). We compared simulation performed with a numerical field simulation software and experimental measurements at microwave frequencies with regard to coupling from external waveguides to line defects and subsequent coupling to resonant modes. We observed that for a line defect in the photonic crystal the impedance matching to a waveguide is strongly dependent on the defect width. We furthermore demonstrated that the coupling to a localized defect resonance can be strongly influenced by the variation of certain single lattice elements, affecting transmission behavior and quality factor of the resonant modes.