Abstract

Surface polaritons are two-dimensional electromagnetic waves propagating at the interface between two media. The electromagnetic field of surface polaritons decays exponentially with distance from the interface. When a thin film is embedded in between two similar dielectrics, the two surface polaritons excited on the opposite interfaces of the thin film can couple. This coupling hybridizes the surface polaritons into two modes called long range surface polariton (LRSPs) and short range surface polariton (SRSPs). LRSPs and SRSPs have been thoroughly investigated in thin metallic films [1], There is, however, little work on surface polaritons supported by thin films of absorbing materials [2].

© 2009 IEEE