Optical properties of planar photonic band gap structures measured with femtosecond pulses

Summary form only given. We propose a method for measuring the dielectric function of a periodic structure consisting of an ordered crystalline array of highly monodisperse silica spheres. We fabricate the photonic structure directly on the reflecting surface of a conventional mirror. We then use this mirror as one end of a Michelson interferometer, constructed for the purpose of performing interferometric autocorrelations of femtosecond pulses. By comparing the interferometric autocorrelations measured with and without the sample in place, it should be possible to extract the optical constants of the sample.