Electrical control of surface-wave propagation at the planar interface of a linear electro-optic materials and an isotropic dielectric material

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how the propagation of surface waves at the interface of a linear electro-optic material and an isotropic dielectric can be electrically controlled using the Pockels effect, depending on the applied electric field.

Contribution

It introduces a method to control surface-wave propagation at a planar interface via an external electric field exploiting the Pockels effect.

Findings

Surface-wave propagation ranges depend on EO material orientation and dielectric index.

Electric fields can modulate the propagation conditions.

Control is achieved through the Pockels effect.

Abstract

Surface waves can propagate on the planar interface of a linear electro-optic (EO) material and an isotropic dielectric material, for restricted ranges of the orientation angles of the EO material and the refractive index of the isotropic material. These ranges can be controlled by the application of a dc electric field, and depend on both the magnitude and the direction of the dc field. Thus, surface-wave propagation can be electrically controlled by exploiting the Pockels effect.