It is generally believed that long range periodic order is instrumental in the formation of a photonic band gap. Using a spectral method that scales linearly with the system size, we found that sizable spectral gaps for each polarization in 2D can be found in aperiodic arrangements of dielectrics that resemble quasicrystalline tiling. Since the aperiodic arrangement has many inequivalent sites, the defect properties of these systems are more complex and interesting than conventional photonic band gap systems.

• Received 15 September 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.956