Energy flux in a surface-plasmon-polariton wave bound to the planar interface of a metal and a structurally chiral mater

John A. Polo, Akhlesh Lakhtakia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

The spatial profile of the energy flux in a surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) wave bound to the planar interface of a metal and a structurally chiral material (SCM) shows strong dependencies on the pitch of the SCM. More than one SPP-wave mode at the same frequency (or free-space wavelength) being possible for the chosen interface, the energy-flux profiles of different modes are different. Although the energy flux on the metal side of the interface decays exponentially with distance from the interface, the profile on the SCM side exhibits oscillations as a function of distance from the interface and decay rates, which are highly variable. Because of the periodic nature of the SCM, the Floquet-Lyapunov theorem may be invoked to explain this behavior.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1696-1703
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of the Optical Society of America A: Optics and Image Science, and Vision
Volume26
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2009

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Energy flux in a surface-plasmon-polariton wave bound to the planar interface of a metal and a structurally chiral mater'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this