Abstract

We use a simple dispersion relation to study the process of spontaneous Cerenkov emission in a photonic bandgap material. The calculation uses the Klein-Gordon equation to treat the electrons and the truncated density of states of the 1-D dispersion relation to approximate the photon density of states in the photonic bandgap material. The Jesuits show that these structures which can have a void fraction greater than 80% can produce equivalent or higher Cerenkov radiation rates as solid high density matter. Since these structures are porous and in some cases are comprised of a series of intersecting open channels which go through entire structure, the relativistic electrons can traverse the material without suffering inelastic scattering losses. The conclusion is that these light weight porous 3-D structures could be used to slow relativistic particles by purely radiative means without the generation of heat. Potential applications of our findings are in the areas of reactor engineering, particle detection, and Cerenkov lasers.

© 1992 Optical Society of America