Optimization of aperiodic dielectric structures

The electromagnetic scattering properties of identical parallel dielectric cylinders configured to closely match a desired response are investigated. Spatial arrangements obtained using a computationally efficient gradient-based optimizer and finite difference forward solver are aperiodic and nonintuitive. We find good agreement between calculations and experiments performed at 37.5 GHz and suggest that finite-sized aperiodic configurations may provide access to functionality inaccessible by conventional periodic, photonic crystal inspired, designs. © 2006 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2221497