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Abstract: Photonic fractal with self-similar structure of dielectric medium can strongly localize the electromagnetic wave energy in the three-dimensional fractal structure. We have fabricated Menger-sponge fractal structures of epoxy by using stereolithography. Titania–silica particles were dispersed into the epoxy to increase the dielectric constant and decrease the dielectric loss. The samples have square holes of 1, 3, 9 and 27mm in edge length through the cubic body of 81mm. Four types of Menger-sponge samples with fractal stages 1–4 were subjected for measurement of microwave responses. The both reflection and transmission amplitudes were attenuated simultaneously at frequencies of 9.5, 10.5, 12.0 and 13.5GHz for each sample with fractal stages 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The electromagnetic field amplitudes in the air holes measured by inserting a mono-pole antenna probe confirmed the strong localization of the electromagnetic wave in the central air cavity. The localized mode frequency can be calculated using the sample size, number of stage, and the effective dielectric constant. The localization efficiency increased according to the fractal stage number. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Three-dimensional photonic crystals with a diamond lattice structure consisting of 5 × 5 × 5 unit cells with the unit cell dimension of 15 mm were fabricated using TiO2-based ceramic particles dispersed epoxy by stereolithography. The diamond lattice showed a perfect band gap between 14.3 and 15.8 GHz. An air cavity defect with a rectangular shape (15 mm × 45 mm × 15 mm) was introduced at the center of the crystal by extracting 3 unit cells in order to investigate the shape effect of the defect on the formation of localized defect modes of electromagnetic wave. When microwaves were radiated normal to the wide sides (45 mm × 15 mm) of the rectangular shape defect, a sharp localized mode appeared at the middle of the band gap. However, no localized mode was observed for incident waves normal to the smaller side (15 mm × 15 mm) because of the symmetry mismatching between internal eigenmodes in the defect cavity and incident plane waves. The mode analysis using a simple cavity model showed the penetration of the electric field of resonant modes about 2.4 mm into the host lattice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new concept of smart processing is proposed that can produce advanced materials and components by finely controlling processing energy and engineering structures. New functional components of 3D photonic crystals and fractals are demonstrated, which are constructed of dielectric ceramics and a polymer using a CAD/CAM stereolithography system. By modifying the structure of diamond-like photonic crystals using free-form fabrication, electromagnetic waves can be controlled, opening the way for new applications in communication and sensing technology. The photonic fractal, a new material that can strongly localize electromagnetic waves without reflection and transmission, will also lead to new applications in the energy and medical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Localization or confinement of electromagnetic or optical waves is reviewed briefly in respect to the wave interaction with the specific structures of periodic, random, and fractal (self-similar) geometries, which can enhance strong interference, scattering, and resonance of waves. The localization of microwave in photonic crystals with diamond structure and in photonic fractals with Menger sponge structure of dielectric media is reported and discussed about the difference of localization behaviors. These 3D structures are fabricated easily from liquid photosensitive resins or ceramic dispersed ones by a CAD/CAM stereolithography. The localization in photonic fractals is supported with several measurements of transmission, 90° wave scattering, electric field intensity profile, and FDTD (finite-difference time-domain) simulation for localized modes. An empirical equation to predict the localization frequencies shows good agreements with measured results as well. The localization in a photonic crystal can be explained by Bragg scattering, while that in a photonic fractal by resonance in the fractal cavity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional electromagnetic or photonic crystals with periodic variations of the dielectric constants were fabricated by a rapid prototyping method called stereolithography. Millimeter-order epoxy lattices with a diamond structure were designed to reflect electromagnetic waves by forming an electromagnetic bandgap in the GHz range. Titanium oxide-based ceramic particles were dispersed into the lattice to control the dielectric constant, resulting in the formation of narrow and deep bandgaps. Crystals of the inverse form that have a network of holes with the diamond structure in a dielectric matrix were successfully fabricated as well. These inverse diamond structures formed the perfect bandgap reflecting electromagnetic waves for all directions. The location of the bandgap agreed with the band calculation using the plane wave propagation method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]