Surface plasmon-polariton study of the optical dielectric function of zinc

Abstract

Abstract The optical dielectric function of zinc is measured by excitation of surface plasmon-polaritons on a silica prism coated in MgF2 and zinc in the Kretchmann configuration and on a zinc-covered silica grating for a range of wavelengths in the visible spectrum. By exciting the surface plasmon at the zinc-MgF2 or zinc-grating interfaces, the zinc is protected from oxidization and contamination. Comparison of angle-dependent reflectivities with either Fresnel's theory or grating modelling theory gives both the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function of the zinc over the visible spectrum. The results compare very favourably with those obtained by other workers using more conventional methods for samples held in vacuum.