Mesoporous Photonic-Crystal Films for Amplification and Filtering of Electromagnetic Radiation

We consider optical properties of mesoporous aluminum-oxide-based photonic crystal films, derive the dispersion relation for electromagnetic waves, obtain the effective refractive index of the photonic crystal, and determine group velocities and effective masses of photons and polaritons in the mesoporous media. We compare the reflection spectra calculated with the experimental results. We discuss the potential for using mesoporous photonic-crystal films as amplifiers of electromagnetic radiation, high-efficiency selective mirrors, and optical filters.