Transmission characteristics of a two-dimensional photonic crystal array of dielectric spheres using subterahertz time domain spectroscopy

The transmission characteristics of a two-dimensional millimeter-sized Si₃N₄ sphere array system are measured and compared with calculations. The transmittance and the phase shift are measured by the subterahertz time domain spectroscopy and the calculation is based on the vector KKR formalism. Excellent agreement over a wide frequency range for the transmittance, phase shift, and photonic band structure has been obtained. The results show that, provided the system is well prepared geometrically and absorption can be suppressed, periodic arrays of dielectric spheres are very promising as photonic crystals.