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Updated: May 23, 2026

Determination of the Excitation and Coupling Rates Between Light Emitters and Surface Plasmon Polaritons
Published on: July 21, 2018
Dispersion relation for surface plasmon polaritons on a Schottky junction.
Thamani Wijesinghe1, Malin Premaratne
1Advanced Computing and Simulation Laboratory (AχL), Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. thamani.wijesinghe@monash.edu
This study derives the dispersion relation for surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at Schottky junctions, accounting for the space charge layer. This advances understanding of SPP modes in metal-semiconductor interfaces.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Materials Science
- Electrical Engineering
Background:
- Conventional analysis of surface plasmon modes assumes distinct permittivity at dielectric-metal interfaces.
- This assumption fails for metal-semiconductor interfaces (Schottky junctions), which can support surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes.
- External potentials can tune SPP behavior at Schottky junctions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To derive an analytical expression for the dispersion relation of SPP modes at Schottky junctions.
- To investigate the influence of the space charge layer on SPP characteristics.
- To provide a theoretical framework for understanding tunable plasmonics in metal-semiconductor systems.
Main Methods:
- Detailed theoretical analysis of the Schottky junction interface.
- Inclusion of the space charge layer and its effect on boundary conditions.
- Derivation of an analytical dispersion relation for SPP modes.
Main Results:
- An analytical expression for the dispersion relation of SPP modes at a Schottky junction was successfully derived.
- The analysis explicitly incorporates the space charge layer effects.
- New boundary conditions arising from the Schottky junction were established.
Conclusions:
- The derived dispersion relation accurately describes SPP modes at Schottky junctions.
- The space charge layer significantly influences SPP behavior.
- This work provides a foundation for designing novel optoelectronic devices utilizing tunable plasmonics at metal-semiconductor interfaces.
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