Resonant optical tunnelling in planar three-layer photonic microstructures

TL;DR

This paper develops a unified analytical model for resonant optical tunnelling in three-layer photonic structures, distinguishing between different wave regimes and analyzing effects of absorption, with implications for dielectric and metal systems.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized Fresnel-coefficient formalism that unifies the understanding of resonant tunnelling in various three-layer photonic systems, including metal-dielectric configurations.

Findings

Resonant tunnelling can occur in structures thicker than several wavelengths.

Distinct regimes are identified based on wave nature in the core layer.

Absorption causes a transition from ideal to attenuated tunnelling.

Abstract

We present a unified analytical framework for resonant optical tunnelling in three-layer photonic systems embedded in a transparent dielectric medium. Compact expressions for the transmission coefficient are derived using a generalized Fresnel-coefficient formalism, enabling us to distinguish between two fundamentally different tunnelling regimes determined by the nature of the waves supported in the core layer. When harmonic waves propagate within the core, resonances satisfy the conventional Fabry-Perot phase condition. In contrast, when evanescent or damped waves are supported, resonant tunnelling arises from an amplitude-matching condition governed by the magnitude of the composite reflection coefficient. This distinction leads to qualitatively different transmission characteristics and markedly different tunnelling behaviors. For clarity, transparent materials are treated first (including ideal metals), and the role of absorption is subsequently analyzed, revealing the transition from unitary resonant tunnelling to attenuated optical tunnelling. Angular-spectral maps illustrate the general features of each configuration and demonstrate that resonant tunnelling may occur in structures whose thickness exceeds several wavelengths. The results provide a consistent physical interpretation of resonant tunnelling phenomena in both dielectric and metal-dielectric multilayer systems.