A flexible Bloch mode method for computing complex band structures and impedances of two-dimensional photonic crystals

We present a flexible method that can calculate Bloch modes, complex band structures, and impedances of two-dimensional photonic crystals from scattering data produced by widely available numerical tools. The method generalizes previous work which relied on specialized multipole and finite element method (FEM) techniques underpinning transfer matrix methods. We describe the numerical technique for mode extraction, and apply it to calculate a complex band structure and to design two photonic crystal antireflection coatings. We do this for frequencies at which other methods fail, but which nevertheless are of significant practical interest. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3674281]