On electromagnetic surface waves supported by an isotropic chiral material

TL;DR

This paper investigates electromagnetic surface waves at the interface of isotropic chiral materials with different dielectrics, revealing conditions for wave amplification or attenuation depending on material properties and polarization.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of surface waves supported by isotropic chiral materials interfaced with various dielectrics, including conditions for amplification and attenuation based on polarization and propagation direction.

Findings

Surface waves similar to surface-plasmon-polaritons were excited.

Surface waves akin to Dyakonov and SPP waves were observed.

Wave amplitude can be amplified or attenuated depending on material parameters.

Abstract

Electromagnetic surface waves supported by an isotropic chiral material were investigated via the associated canonical boundary-value problem. Specifically, two scenarios were considered: surface waves guided by the planar interface of an isotropic chiral material and (a) an isotropic dielectric material and (b) a uniaxial dielectric (or plasmonic) material. Both plasmonic and non-plasmonic achiral partnering materials were investigated. In scenario (a) surface waves akin to surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) waves were excited, while in scenario (b) surface waves akin to Dyakonov waves and akin to SPP waves were excited. For numerical studies, an isotropic chiral material capable of simultaneously supporting attenuation and amplification of plane waves, depending upon circular polarization state, was used. The amplitude of the SPP-like waves could be either amplified or attenuated, depending upon the relative permittivity of the isotropic dielectric partnering material for scenario (a), or depending upon the direction of propagation relative to the optic axis of the uniaxial dielectric partnering material for scenario (b).