Band Gap Extension in a One-Dimensional Ternary Metal-Dielectric Photonic Crystal

Comparing with an all-dielectric binary photonic crystal, we show, in this work, that the photonic band gap in ternary metal-dielectric photonic crystal can be significantly enlarged. First, the band gap enlargement due to the addition of the metallic film is examined in the case of normal incidence. Next, in the oblique incidence, a wider omnidirectional band gap can be obtained in such a ternary metal-dielectric photonic crystal. All the theoretical analyses are made based on the transfer matrix method together with the Drude model of metals.