Morphological effects on surface-plasmon-polariton waves at the planar interface of a metal and a columnar thin film

John A. Polo, Akhlesh Lakhtakia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

A theoretical study predicts that surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waves may propagate along the interface of a columnar thin film (CTF) and a metal over a range of propagation directions relative to the morphology of the CTF. The range of propagation directions depends on the tilt of the columns in the CTF. The phase speed of the SPP wave varies mainly as a function of the tilt of the CTF columns. Both the confinement of the SPP wave to the interface and the decay of the SPP wave along the direction of propagation depend strongly on the direction of propagation relative to the morphologically significant plane of the CTF. The greater the columnar tilt in relation to the interface, the shorter is the range of propagation. Because of CTF porosity and the ability to engineer this biaxial dielectric material, the CTF-metal interface may be more attractive for sensor applications than the traditional dielectric-metal interface used for SPP-wave-based sensors.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)5453-5457
Number of pages5
JournalOptics Communications
Volume281
Issue number21
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2008

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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