| Issue |
EPL
Volume 114, Number 3, May 2016
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 35002 | |
| Number of page(s) | 5 | |
| Section | Physics of Gases, Plasmas and Electric Discharges | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/114/35002 | |
| Published online | 27 May 2016 | |
Optical excitation of surface plasma waves without grating structures
1 Department of Nanotechnology for Sustainable Energy, School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University - Gakuen 2-1, Sanda 669-1337, Japan
2 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter - Stocker Road, EX4 4QL Exeter, UK
3 National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) - Namiki 1-1, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan
Received: 27 March 2016
Accepted: 12 May 2016
Surface plasma waves (SPWs) are usually discussed in the context of a metal in contact with a dielectric. However, they can also exist between two metals. In this work we study these bimetallic waves. We find that their dispersion curve always cuts the light line, which allows direct optical coupling without surface grating structures. We propose practical schemes to excite them and the excitation efficiency is estimated. We also show that these waves can be much less lossy than conventional SPWs and their losses can be systematically controlled, a highly desirable attribute in applications. Conducting metal oxides seem fit for experimental studies.
PACS: 51.10.+y – Kinetic and transport theory of gases / 52.25.Dg – Plasma kinetic equations / 52.27.Aj – Single-component, electron-positive-ion plasmas
© EPLA, 2016
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