Photonic crystals and photonic structures

This paper reviews the state-of-the-art of photonic band gap materials, addressing separately the spectral ranges of microwaves and optics. In the microwave domain, applications seem to emerge in particular, thanks to the recent breakthrough of metallo-dielectric structures. In the optical domain, 3D structures have been recently demonstrated in the infrared. In the mean time, refractive index engineering of a variety of complex structures involving photonic band gap reflections as well as more classical Fresnel confinement of light is now underway for the study of quantum electrodynamics in the solid state.