In this paper, based on the transfer matrix method, the transmission properties in the infrared (IR)
region for one-dimensional binary and ternary photonic crystals under the effect of temperature
variations have been theoretically studied. Both thermal expansion effect and thermo-optical effect
are considered simultaneously. The numerical results show that the photonic band gap can be
significantly enlarged compared to the photonic band gap at room temperature. Furthermore, the
calculated transmission characteristics in the wavelength domain demonstrate that, ternary structure
has a significant effect in the width of the photonic band gap compared to the usual binary photonic
crystals. The roles played by the related parameters, such as the thickness of the constituent
materials will be discussed and illustrated.