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Updated: May 12, 2026

Determination of the Excitation and Coupling Rates Between Light Emitters and Surface Plasmon Polaritons
Published on: July 21, 2018
Exact surface-plasmon polariton solutions at a lossy interface
Andreas Norrman1, Tero Setälä, Ari T Friberg
1Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland. andreas.norrman@uef.fi
Standard approximate analyses for plasmon fields at metal/dielectric boundaries are often incorrect. A new backward-propagating surface wave polariton, with potential applications in metamaterial plasmonics, has been discovered.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Plasmon fields at metal/dielectric boundaries are crucial for various optical applications.
- Current approximate analyses are widely used but may have limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To rigorously investigate the accuracy of standard approximate analyses for plasmon fields.
- To identify and characterize novel surface-plasmon solutions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a rigorous electromagnetic treatment.
- Analyzed energy-flow considerations for newly identified solutions.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that customary approximate results are incorrect in certain scenarios.
- Discovered a new type of surface-plasmon solution not predicted by standard analysis.
- Identified this new polariton as a backward-propagating surface wave.
Conclusions:
- The standard approximate analysis for plasmon fields is not universally valid.
- The newly discovered backward-propagating surface wave has significant implications for plasmonics.
- Potential applications exist in metal/semiconductor and metamaterial plasmonics.
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