Written by the department head of materials science and engineering at MIT, this concise and stringent introduction takes readers from the fundamental theory to in-depth knowledge.
It sets out with a theoretical scheme for the design of desirable periodic structures, then presents the experimental techniques that allow for fabrication of the periodic structure and exemplary experimental data. Subsequently, theory and numerical data are used to demonstrate how these periodic structures control the photonic, acoustic, and mechanical properties of materials, concluding with examples from these three important fields of applications.
The result is must-have knowledge for both beginners and veterans in the field.

Martin Maldovan is currently a Post Doctoral Associate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He received his B.S. in Physics from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina , and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Martin Maldovan has authored numerous scientific publications in the fields of photonics, phononics and mechanics and obtained the 2006 Scientific Writing Award to Professionals in Acoustics from the Acoustical Society of America.

Edwin L. Thomas is currently the Department Head of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science from the University of Massachusetts and his Ph.D. in Materials Science from Cornell University. Professor Thomas has authored over 300 scientific publications and has received numerous scientific awards, including the Special Creativity Award of the National Science Foundation (1996 and 1988), the High Polymer Physics Prize of the American Physical Society (1991), and the American Chemical Society Creative Polymer Chemist Award (1985).

Introduction
I. THEORY
Structural Periodicity
Periodic Structures and Functions
Interference of Waves and Interference Lithography
Periodic Structures and Interference Lithography
II. EXPERIMENTAL
Fabrication of Periodic Structures
III. APPLICATIONS
Photonic Crystals
Phononic Crystals
Periodic Cellular Solids
Further Applications