Physical interpretation of Mueller matrix spectra: a versatile method applied to gold gratings

The interaction of nanostructures, periodic or random, with polarized light creates very rich physics where scattering, diffraction and absorbance are linked to a variety of dispersive modes and coupling effects. Each of these excitations depends strongly on polarization, angle of incidence, azimuthal orientation of the sample and wavelength. The entire optical response can be obtained, independently from any model, by measuring the Mueller matrices at various k-vectors over a broad frequency range. This results in complex data hiding the underlying physics. Here we present a simple but versatile method to identify the physical properties present in the Mueller matrices. This method is applicable to a wide variety of photonic and plasmonic samples. Based on the simple example of a one-dimensional gold grating where the optical response is characterized not only by diffraction but also by a complex mixing of polarization, we present a very general procedure to analyze the Mueller matrix data using simple analytical tools. The calculated Mueller matrix contour plots obtained from an effective anisotropic layer model are completed by the presence of plasmonic modes, Rayleigh-Woods anomalies and the interband transition absorbance. A comparison of the so-constructed contour plots with the measured ones satisfactorily connects the optical properties of the grating to their physical origin. This straightforward procedure is very general and will be powerful for the analysis of complex optical nanostructures.