Polaritonic and photonic gap interactions in a two-dimensional photonic crystal.

If an ionic material is used in a photonic crystal, the lattice resonance creates a polaritonic gap in the infrared range. The interaction between a polaritonic gap and the structure gap in a 2D square photonic crystal is studied by transfer matrix photonic band structure calculations. The polaritonic gap appears for a surprisingly low volume density of the ionic material. The TM gaps are larger than the TE gaps, as in the dielectric case. By varying the lattice constant, the structure gaps can be shifted across the polaritonic gap, and the effects of merging the two gaps can be studied.