Abstract : We review the properties of the surface waves that are scattered by two-dimensional sub-wavelength indentations on metallic surfaces. We show that two distinct waves are involved, a surface plasmon polariton (SPP) and a quasi-cylindrical wave (quasi-CW). We discuss the main characteristics of these waves, their damping characteristic lengths and their relative excitation weights as a function of the separation distance from the indentation and as a function of the metal conductivity. In particular, we derive a closed-form expression for the quasi-CW, which clarifies its physical origin and its main properties.Wefurther present an intuitive microscopic model, which explains how the elementary SPPs and quasi-CWs exchange their energies by multiple scattering to build up a rich variety of near- and far-field optical effects.
https://hal-iogs.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00570334 Contributor : Christophe SauvanConnect in order to contact the contributor Submitted on : Monday, February 28, 2011 - 12:04:27 PM Last modification on : Wednesday, September 16, 2020 - 5:40:30 PM