The role of polarization on surface plasmon polariton excitation on metallic gratings in the conical mounting

Abstract

The polarization effects of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) in an azimuthally rotated gratings have been investigated. Mixed s and p modes can be excited using the polarization angle of the incident light to optimize the SPP coupling. Experimental results and simulations show which component of polarization is effective for the SPP excitation. The optimum angle direction has been calculated analytically. The SPR tunability by polarization may uncover important features in SPP applications.