We investigate the absolute photonic band gap (PBG) formation in two-dimensional (2-D) photonic crystals designed using symmetry reduction approach. The lattice symmetry, shape and orientation of dielectric scatterers affect the photonic gap parameters. We use symmetry reduction, achieved either by including additional rods into the lattice unit cell or by reorienting noncircular scatterers to engineer the photonic band gaps in 2-D square and triangular structures. The case of air rods drilled into silicon background is considered. We show that for square structures symmetry reduction can be an effective way to enlarge the absolute PBG, but for triangular lattices any modification of the crystal structure considerably reduces the absolute PBG width. We also discuss the practical technological feasibility of the proposed structures.

• Received 29 January 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.69.235112