The phenomenon of photonic band gaps in one-dimensional optical lattices is reviewed using a microscopic approach. Formally equivalent to the transfer matrix approach in the thermodynamic limit, a microscopic model is required to study finite-size ef
fects, such as deviations from the Bragg condition. Microscopic models describing both scalar and vectorial light are proposed, as well as for two- and three-level atoms. Several analytical results are compared to experimental data, showing a good agreement.
