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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Fabrication of Zero Mode Waveguides for High Concentration Single Molecule Microscopy
Published on: May 12, 2020
Increased cut-off wavelength for a subwavelength hole in a real metal
Abstract:
A waveguide mode of a subwavelength rectangular hole in a real metal is analyzed. Due to coupling between surface plasmons on the long edges of the hole, the cut-off wavelength increases as the hole-width is reduced. The cut-off wavelength is found to be much larger than Rayleigh's criterion for perfect metals - 2.3 times as large for a 15 nm wide hole. The analytical results are verified by finite-difference calculations. The finite difference calculations also show the influence of including material loss.
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