Abstract: A broadband antenna system utilizes multiple photonic bandgap crystals to achieve nearly 100 percent power efficiency over a larger range of frequencies than prior antenna systems. Multiple custom tailored photonic bandgap crystals form a substrate for the antenna system. Each of the crystals is designed to cover a specific range of frequencies. The multiple crystals are attached together to form a photonic bandgap substrate whose bandwidth varies as a function of location on the substrate. A broadband antenna that can cover a wide frequency range, and whose active region shifts to different portions of the antenna as a function of frequency, is formed on the substrate such that the active region of the antenna is always on a crystal that has a corresponding operating bandwidth. The photonic bandgap crystals provide a nearly 100 percent efficient reflector for radiation emitted into the substrate that would otherwise be trapped or dissipated therein.