Refractive and reflective behavior of polymer prisms used for surface plasmon guidance

Two-dimensional optics with surface plasmons was realized by the use of topographically structured dielectric polymer coatings. Triangles of polymethylmetacrylate (PMMA) with lateral dimensions of some tens of micrometers on top of a silver layer act as two-dimensional prisms for surface plasmons. Refraction and internal reflection of plasmons were investigated by scanning near-field optical microscopy. The change in propagation direction can be explained by Snell's law when taking an effective refractive index for plasmons into account. Furthermore, intensity modulations in the PMMA elements and in the transmitted plasmon beam were observed.