Excitation of multiple surface plasmon-polaritons by a metal layer inserted in an equichiral sculptured thin film

TL;DR

This paper theoretically demonstrates the excitation of multiple surface plasmon-polaritons in a sculptured thin film with a metal defect, revealing potential for advanced sensing applications through simultaneous long- and short-range SPP modes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel structure with an equichiral sculptured thin film and metal layer that supports multiple SPP modes, expanding the understanding of plasmonic excitations in complex nanostructures.

Findings

Multiple SPP modes can be excited at both interfaces of the metal layer.

Long-range and short-range SPP waves are simultaneously excited.

The structure has potential applications in broad-range sensing.

Abstract

Excitation of multiple surface plasmon-polaritons(SPPs) by an equichiral sculptured thin film with a metal layer defect was studied theoretically in the Sarid configuration, using the transfer matrix method. Multiple SPP modes were distinguished from waveguide modes in optical absorption for p- polarized plane wave. The degree of localization of multiple SPP waves was investigated by calculation of the time averaged Poynting vector. The results showed that the long-range and short-range SPP waves can simultaneously be excited at both interfaces of metal core in this proposed structure which may be used in a broad range of sensing applications.