Slow-light effect via Rayleigh anomaly and the effect of finite gratings

In this Letter, we investigate the slow-light effect of subwavelength diffraction gratings via the Rayleigh anomaly using a fully analytical approach without needing to consider specific grating structures. Our results show that the local group velocity of the transmitted light can be significantly reduced due to the optical vortex, which can inspire a new mechanism to enhance light-matter interactions for optical sensing and photodetection. However, the slow-light effect will diminish as the transmitted light propagates farther from the grating surface, and the slowdown factor decreases as the grating size shrinks.