A Novel 2D Genetic Algorithm for Band Gap Optimization of Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystals

By using a novel 2D genetic algorithm, the band gaps of two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals are maximized. In this procedure the unit cell is divided into small grids. Each filling pattern of the grids is translated into a matrix of binary elements. A novel crossover and mutation operator is developed to obtain structures with maximum relative band gaps. By applying the proposed operator, the required number of generations is extremely reduced. In addition, a semi-analytical method is introduced for calculating the photonic crystal band structures. Because of this efficient method, the required computation time of the fitness function is significantly reduced. The paper presents two optimized photonic crystal structures with a relative band gap of 21%.