Light Amplification and Attenuation in Stratified Structures with Complex Refractive Index

Abstract

We study the electromagnetic wave propagation inside a one-dimensional photonic lattice with dielectric permittivity having a non-zero imaginary part. A detailed investigation of the influence of gains and losses on both the transmission/reflection coefficients and the electromagnetic field distribution is provided. A duality phenomenon between loss and gain is discussed. Upon investigation of the reflected spectrum, we show the existence of huge resonances associated with laser thresholds. Some of these resonances stem from the wave reflection, while others are due to the wave propagation regime. For a regular finite periodic structure with a complex dielectric permittivity, we show a symmetry in the positions of the resonances along the frequency axis.