Photonic band gaps of optimized crystal and disordered networks

Date: Thu. July 22, 2021
Organized by: FAU DCN-AvH, Chair for Dynamics, Control and Numerics – Alexander von Humboldt Professorship at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany)
Title: Photonic band gaps of optimized crystal and disordered networks

Speaker: Dr. Michael Klatt
Affiliation: FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

Abstract. The talk will begin with a brief introduction to photonic band gap materials and standard techniques in the field. Then, the talk will present two recent discoveries: (1) the first foam-based photonic heterostructure with a complete photonic band gap [1], (2) an unanticipated universal behavior in the gap sensitivity of optimized crystal and disordered networks [2]. The talk will also give a brief outlook on computational challenges and how novel techniques could lead to answer long-standing problems in physics.

[1] Klatt, Steinhardt, Torquato. Phoamtonic designs yield sizeable 3D photonic band gaps. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 116, 23480 (2019).
[2] Klatt, Steinhardt, Torquato. Gap-sensitivity reveals universal behaviors in optimized photonic crystal and disordered networks. To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. (2021).

Recording/Video: