Improved scattering matrix method for the analysis of two-dimensional PBG devices

Development of fast, flexible, and accurate methods for the analysis (and design) of photonic crystals devices is a relevant topic in order to optimize existing devices and/or developing new design solutions. Within this framework, in this article, we present an improved version of the scattering matrix method [1] for the evaluation of the electromagnetic behavior of two-dimensional finite-extent photonic crystals made of a finite set of parallel dielectric rods. In particular, by relying on features of the fields to be computed within the device and a suitable aggregation into macrocells, a considerable reduction of the number of unknowns of the linear system to be solved is achieved. A numerical analysis confirms the accuracy of the proposed method and the remarkable computational benefit.