Reduction of Refractive Index Contrast Threshold for Photonic Band-Gap in Square Lattices

The threshold of refractive index contrast (RIC) to open a photonic band gap can be reduced by symmetry breaking. For the case of square lattice composed by dielectric cylinders, the absolute band gap is demonstrated by inserting small rods in the centre of the lattices, and the threshold RIC is reduced to 3.8. As for the square lattices composed by air holes in dielectric, the minimal RIC required for an absolute band gap decreases to 2.20.