Photonic Crystals: Molding the Flow of Light - Second Edition 2nd Edition, Kindle Edition

As a co-author of the new edition, I'm obviously a bit biased, but I think this book occupies a unique position in this field as a broad advanced-undergraduate/beginning-graduate introduction to photonic crystals and light in periodic media, focusing on timeless fundamentals and richly illustrated with examples of many different structures. Compared to the first edition, it is greatly expanded and improved, with almost every chapter seeing significant revisions and several entirely new chapters; the second edition is roughly double the length of the first.However, the main reason I am posting here is that you don't need to take my word for it; the publishers have allowed us to post a PDF of the entire book online for no cost, so you can determine whether it is useful to you before purchasing the paper version (beautifully printed in full color). See ab-initio.mit.edu/book (where you can also find errata etcetera).Compared to classic textbooks like Hecht or Jackson, this book occupies a somewhat different ground. It is not concerned with geometric optics (where the wavelength is small compared to the structure) or with the handful of geometries that can be solved almost completely analytically (vacuum, planes, cylinders, and spheres). Rather, it deals with the vast array of problems in nanophotonics where the wavelength is comparable to the structure, and especially with periodic (or partially periodic) "crystalline" structures. In these cases, although completely analytical solutions are usually impossible, the book explains how there are more general principles such as symmetry and linear algebra that reveal the fundamental structure and behavior of light in such media. The book uses these principles to explain the most important optical properties of these structures, from confinement of light in 3d band gaps to periodic dielectric waveguides and optical fibers. It also introduces the powerful tool of temporal coupled-mode theory to design devices by coupling waveguides and microcavities.

This visually attractive book is also very informative, particularly for someone with a background in solid-state physics and eletromagnetism. The reformulation of Maxwell's equations as a Hamiltonian theory was a very interesting insight for someone (me, OK?) with a traditional physics graduate school education. Another interesting insight is that scalar diffraction theory works when polarization effects are unimportant, and polarization effects are unimportant when the periodicity is large compared to the wavelength of light. A third is the development of the eigenvalue as the mode-weighted average over the bulk indices of refraction of the materials composing the structure.The mathematical development is just perfect to get the main ideas across without burying the reader. There are entrees into the literature for more advanced developments.

The authors give great physical explanations with just the right amount of mathematical rigor. The analogy with quantum mechanics is made continuously through the text which helps with intuition. This book is definitely going to be a classic.

Great easy to read, conceptually covers relevant main and background material, very colorful supporting pictures and plots, written by experts in this field.

First, a disclaimer: I am a graduate student working within the research group of two of the authors (JDJ & SGJ). I used the first edition of this book (as did many other researchers) extensively when being first introduced to this field and have been able to compare it with this most recent edition given my familiarity with both editions. The 2nd edition is a significant improvement over the 1st edition, for many reasons: 1) the content is further polished and well presented (owing in part to the emphasis on clarity in communication placed within our group), 2) the figures, equations, and fonts are much more readable than before and 3) there are at least three new chapters that provide timely information on emerging subfields (periodic dielectric waveguides, photonic crystal slabs and photonic crystal fibers). An extensive (and expanded) bibliography and appendix (with an extra section on computational photonics) supplement the main text well. The book is at least twice as thick as the 1st edition with new and updated content and is exquisitely bound & illustrated. Indeed, it is true that a free copy of this book has been posted on the authors' website, but owning a hard copy is a valuable reference as well. The 2nd edition is not simply a superficial revision of the 1st, it is a much needed improvement for a field that has seen a tremendous amount of growth in the intervening years of the books' first publication.

As a first year graduate student, this is the first book I read about photonic crystals. The author made a lot of comparison between Electrodynamics and Quantum Mechanics, and between photonics crystals and solid state physics. (I like it because I have some solid state physics background.) The math in this book is rigorous and beautiful, but is never abused. Most of the content give us intuition about what is happening in photonic crystals, instead of just formulas. Actually there are too few formulas in this book...This is the Second Edition. It talks a lot more about realistic 3D structures like Photonics-Crystal Slabs. You cannot find them in the First Edition.Generally speaking I love this book. It is a great introduction to the area.

Although the book is a little above me at the moment, its well written and hopefully it will be an asset in my future work.

Good, book, good, quality. No, problem