Full photonic bandgaps and spontaneous emission control in 1-D multilayer dielectric structures

Summary form only given. Three-dimensional photonic bandgap crystals are extremely difficult to make in large volumes at optical frequencies. There is therefore great interest in whether one and two-dimensional photonic crystals can exhibit some of the same properties. For example, it is possible to design two-dimensional "quasi-metallic" (QM) photonic crystals which reject light incident from air no matter what the polarisation state or direction of propagation. It is perhaps less well known that simple, appropriately designed multilayer stacks can also be QM for incidence from, e.g., air or water. We explore the use of low-loss planar QM mirrors in high finesse optical microresonators.