Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 22, 2026

Determination of the Excitation and Coupling Rates Between Light Emitters and Surface Plasmon Polaritons
Published on: July 21, 2018
Maximum reflectance difference for incident p- and s-polarized light at air-dielectric interfaces
Abstract:
New features related to the reflection of p- and s-polarized light at optically isotropic air-dielectric interfaces are determined. The intensity reflectance difference, RD = Rs - Rp, is maximum at an angle of incidence (AOI) ϕ = ϕMD in the range between the Brewster angle and grazing incidence. Both ϕMD and (Rs - Rp)max are calculated as functions of substrate refractive index n. Explicit expressions are obtained for the two angles of incidence, one below and one above the Brewster angle, at which the condition Rs = 2Rp is satisfied. Measurement of such angles enables the determination of n of transparent materials using a simple null-seeking spectroscopic ellipsometer with a ϕ-2ϕ goniometer. Finally, the AOI at which Rp'' = 0 (point of inflection in the Rp-versus-ϕ curve) is identified, and the equation that determines such an angle is also derived analytically.
More Related Videos
09:43Interfacial Molecular-level Structures of Polymers and Biomacromolecules Revealed via Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy
Published on: August 13, 2019
09:00Experimental Methods for Spin- and Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy Combined with Polarization-Variable Laser
Published on: June 28, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Magnetostatic Boundary Conditions
Potential Due to a Polarized Object
Susceptibility, Permittivity and Dielectric Constant
Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) Infrared Spectroscopy: Overview
The ATR process begins by directing a beam...
Electrostatic Boundary Conditions in Dielectrics
Consider a case where both the mediums across a boundary are two different dielectric materials. Recall that the electric field and electric displacement are proportional and related through the material's permittivity....
Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor