The effect of Anderson localization on surface plasmon polariton propagation and outward leakage when scattered by a randomly corrugated section of the interface

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Anderson localization affects surface plasmon polariton (SPP) propagation and leakage at a randomly rough metal-dielectric interface, revealing anisotropic radiation patterns due to interface geometry.

Contribution

It introduces a method to model SPP scattering from rough interfaces using an effective random impedance, capturing the interplay between localization and leakage.

Findings

Pronounced anisotropic radiation pattern observed.

Effective impedance approach successfully models scattering.

Interplay between geometry and localization influences leakage.

Abstract

The practical applications of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) require the deep understanding of the impact of electrical characteristics variability and geometrical irregularity of the metal-dielectric interface. Traditional methods in the theory of wave scattering at rough interfaces fail to treat simultaneously the interference (Anderson) localization of the SPP, which may arise due to its multiple back-scattering by random distortions of surface relief, and the leakage into the uniform dielectric half-space. In our previous works [Low Temp. Phys. \textbf{42}, 685 (2016); Ann.~Phys.~\textbf{455}, 169378 (2023)], by representing the perturbation of surface impedance as an effective potential in the Schr\"odinger-like equation, we suggested the way to describe the interplay between Anderson localization and the leakage of the SPP. In the present study we show that the problem of SPP scattering from finite geometrically rough region of the interface can be reduced to the problem of its scattering from the same region but with effective random impedance. We calculate the radiation pattern and demonstrate its pronounced anisotropy that arises due to the interplay between different geometrical parameters of the interface roughness.