Gas detection and photonic crystal devices design using predicted spectral responses

A method for detecting presence of a gas having a specific absorption wavelength, the method comprising the steps of:

• emitting light having a wavelength that at least partially falls within the specific absorption wavelength of the gas;
• placing the gas within a photonic crystal cavity through which the light passes;
• detecting at least a portion of the light passing through the photonic crystal cavity;
• generating at least one parameter of a band gap spectrum from the detected portion of the light,
• wherein the step of generating at least one parameter comprises performing a numerical simulation within a frequency range of the photonic crystal cavity to generate a set of spectral response data points, performing rational function interpolation on the set of spectral response data points to generate a spectral response of the photonic crystal cavity, and determining the at least one parameter from the spectral response of the photonic crystal cavity;
• and
• comparing the generated at least one parameter with stored parameters of band gap spectrums, wherein a match of parameters indicates the presence of the gas.

A method for determining whether data representative of a photonic crystal meets a predetermined design standard for photonic crystal design, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving the data representative of the photonic crystal;
• generating a frequency solution of the photonic crystal based on the data representative of the photonic crystal;
• generating a band gap spectrum from the frequency solution of the photonic crystal,
• wherein the step of generating the band gap spectrum comprises performing a numerical simulation within the frequency solution of the photonic crystal to generate a set of spectral response data points, performing rational function interpolation on the set of spectral response data points to generate a spectral response of the photonic crystal, and determining parameter information representing the band gap spectrum from the spectral response of the photonic crystal cavity;
• and
• determining whether the data representative of the photonic crystal meets the predetermined design standard based on the generated band gap spectrum.

A device for characterizing a photonic crystal, the device comprising:

• an emitter configured for emitting light such that the light is incident upon and passes through the photonic crystal;
• a detector configured for detecting at least a portion of the light that passes through the photonic crystal;
• a generator configured for generating a band gap spectrum from the detected portion of the light,
• wherein the generator is configured to perform a numerical simulation within a frequency range of the photonic crystal to generate a set of spectral response data points, and wherein the generator performs rational function interpolation on the set of spectral response data points to generate a spectral response of the photonic crystal, and wherein the generator determines parameter information representing the band gap spectrum from the spectral response of the photonic crystal;
• and
• a comparator for comparing the generated band gap spectrum with stored band spectrums for characterizing the photonic crystal.

A method for characterizing a photonic crystal, the method comprising the steps of:

• emitting light such that the light is incident upon and passes through the photonic crystal;
• detecting at least a portion of the light that passes through the photonic crystal;
• generating a band gap spectrum from the detected portion of the light,
• wherein the step of generating the band gap spectrum comprises:
• performing a numerical simulation within a frequency range of the photonic crystal to generate a set of spectral response data points;
• performing rational function interpolation on the set of spectral response data points to generate a spectral response of the photonic crystal;
• and
• determining parameter information representing the band gap spectrum from the spectral response of the photonic crystal;
• and
• comparing the generated band gap spectrum with stored band gap spectrums, wherein matching generated and stored band gap spectrums characterize the photonic crystal.