Complete band gaps in one-dimensional left-handed periodic structures

Artificially fabricated structures with periodically modulated parameters such as photonic crystals offer novel ways of controlling the flow of light due to the existence of a range of forbidden frequencies associated with a photonic band gap. It is believed that modulation of the refractive index in all three spatial dimensions is required to open a complete band gap and prevent the propagation of electromagnetic waves in all directions. Here we reveal that, in sharp contrast to what was known before and contrary to the accepted physical intuition, a one-dimensional periodic structure containing the layers of transparent left-handed (or negative-index) metamaterial can trap light in three-dimensional space due to the existence of a complete band gap.