Statistical analysis of geometrical imperfections from the images of 2D photonic crystals

High resolution images of planar photonic crystal ( PC) optical components fabricated by e-beam lithography in various materials are analyzed to characterize statistical properties of common 2D geometrical imperfections. Our motivation is to attempt an intuitive, while rigorous statistical description of fabrication imperfections to provide a realistic input into theoretical modelling of PC device performance. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.