Wavelength dependent birefringence of surface plasmon polaritonic crystals

Abstract

A periodic array of elliptical nanoholes in a metal film acts as a thin two-dimensional birefringent crystal with wavelength dependent orientation of principal polarization eigenstates, the property which is not encountered in natural crystals. The transmission spectrum of such metallic nanostructures can be controlled in a wide range by selecting the polarization of incident and transmitted light.