Bragg attenuation length in metallo-dielectric photonic band gap materials

We analyze the ability of the Bragg reflector model to account for the properties of metallo-dielectric photonic crystals. We perform mm-wave transmission measurements on photonic structure consisting of conducting spheres in air and compare our results to the model predictions. In particular, we verify the universal relation between the Bragg attenuation length and the width of the photonic stopband, which is predicted by the Bragg reflector model. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.