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Analytical model of the enhanced light transmission through subwavelength metal slits: Green’s function formalism versus Rayleigh’s expansion

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Abstract

We present an analytical model of the resonantly enhanced transmission of light through a subwavelength nm-size slit in a thick metal film. The simple formulae for the transmitted electromagnetic fields and the transmission coefficient are derived by using the narrow-slit approximation and the Green’s function formalism for the solution of Maxwell’s equations. The resonance wavelengths are in agreement with the semi-analytical model [Y. Takakura, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5601 (2001)], which solves the wave equations by using the Rayleigh field expansion. Our formulae, however, show great resonant enhancement of a transmitted wave, while the Rayleigh expansion model predicts attenuation. The difference is attributed to the near-field subwavelength diffraction, which is not considered by the Rayleigh-like expansion models.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság u. 6, Pécs, 7624, Hungary

    S.V. Kukhlevsky

  2. South-Trans-Danubian Cooperative Research Centre, University of Pécs, Ifjúság u. 6, Pécs, 7624, Hungary

    M. Mechler

  3. Institute of Spectrochemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, Bunsen-Kirchhoff-Str. 11, 44139, Dortmund, Germany

    O. Samek

  4. Brno Univ. Technol, 611669, Brno, Czech Republic

    O. Samek

  5. Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium

    K. Janssens

Authors
  1. S.V. Kukhlevsky
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  2. M. Mechler
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  3. O. Samek
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  4. K. Janssens
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S.V. Kukhlevsky.

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PACS

42.25.Bs; 42.65.Fx; 42.79.Ag; 42.79.Dj

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Kukhlevsky, S., Mechler, M., Samek, O. et al. Analytical model of the enhanced light transmission through subwavelength metal slits: Green’s function formalism versus Rayleigh’s expansion. Appl. Phys. B 84, 19–24 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-006-2272-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-006-2272-4

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