  The electromagnetic dispersion in periodic layered media can be tailored and
their resonant properties can be considerably improved by utilizing anisotropic
materials. Periodic structures with a photonic band edge split into two parts,
or so-called split band edge, exhibit superior resonant properties including
exceptionally high Q-values of transmission resonances and nearly perfect
impedance matching at the boundaries, even when the number of unit cells N is
not large. A microwave transmission resonance with Q~220 is demonstrated in a
periodic stack of form-birefringent layers with N=12 realized in a waveguide
geometry.
