Assessing the maximum transmittance of periodic metal-dielectric multilayers

作者：Allen T W; DeCorby R G^*

来源：Journal of the Optical Society of America B-Optical Physics, 2011, 28(10): 2529-2536.

We show that the theory of potential transmittance (PT) is useful for problems involving photon tunneling through metal-dielectric stacks, regardless of whether the tunneling is mediated by Fabry-Perot or surface-plasmon resonances. A unifying principle is that, given a total thickness of metal, subdividing the metal into a larger number of thin films increases the maximum PT. For Fabry-Perot-based tunneling, we apply the concept of equivalent layers to stacks comprising dielectric-metal-dielectric unit cells and explore the conditions for impedance matching to an external air medium. This approach demonstrates that, to optimize transmittance, thicker metal films require higher-index dielectric spacers. For surface-plasmon-mediated tunneling, we confirm that the maximum transmittance also lies within the limits predicted by PT theory.

• 出版日期2011-10