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Updated: Jan 30, 2026
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Evanescent Field Based Photoacoustics: Optical Property Evaluation at Surfaces
Published on: July 26, 2016
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Polarimetric nonregularity of evanescent waves
Optics Letters
|January 16, 2019
Summary
Evanescent waves in total internal reflection are always nonregularly polarized. This finding reveals new insights into the polarization structure of electromagnetic near fields for nanoscale optics applications.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Electromagnetism
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Three-dimensional polarization states of random light are classified as regular or nonregular based on their 3x3 polarization matrix.
- Evanescent waves are generated during total internal reflection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To classify the polarization states of purely evanescent waves excited during total internal reflection.
- To investigate the degree of nonregularity in these evanescent waves.
- To explore potential applications in nanoscale surface optics.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the 3x3 polarization matrix for evanescent waves.
- Application of a recently advanced measure to quantify nonregularity.
- Theoretical study of electromagnetic near fields.
Main Results:
- Any purely evanescent wave excited in total internal reflection is demonstrated to be in a nonregular polarization state.
- The degree of nonregularity for these evanescent waves was quantified.
- Nonregular evanescent waves exhibit unique polarimetric structure and dimensional characteristics.
Conclusions:
- Evanescent waves in total internal reflection are fundamentally nonregularly polarized.
- This nonregularity offers new perspectives on the nature of electromagnetic near fields.
- Potential applications exist in the field of nanoscale surface optics.
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