Effective-medium theory for energy velocity in one-dimensional finite lossless photonic crystals.

The effective medium theory is a useful approach for investigating the electromagnetic wave propagation in periodic multilayer slabs. It allows accurate computation of transmission and reflection spectra as well as of phase and group velocities. In this paper we derive an exact analytical expression for the energy velocity of a one-dimensional finite photonic crystal based on the effective medium approach. It accounts for the multiple reflections within the structure which results in the characteristic oscillations of the transmission spectrum. Our analytical expression holds for an arbitrary refractive index contrast and goes beyond the limits of the standard homogenization method. In order to validate our approach, results obtained by using the all-frequency effective energy velocity have been compared to those obtained using the transfer matrix method.