Extraordinary optical transmission from a thin microcavity by macroscopic quantum effect

Abstract

The macroscopic quantum effect is revealed to elaborate the extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) from a subwavelength thin microcavity based on the uncertainty property of the transmitted electromagnetic fields after the aperture. A critical radius is found in the thin microcavity under a certain incident electromagnetic wavelength. With the aperture radius varying, the transmitted field can be divided into three regimes: I) the macroscopic quantum regime when the aperture radius is less than the critical radius, in which the field edge effect occurs and the EOT phenomenon is perfectly manifested; II) the wave-particle duality regime in the vicinity of the critical radius, in which the edge effect and diffraction phenomenon exist simultaneously; III) the wave regime when the aperture radius is greater than the critical radius, in which the near-field diffraction emerges. In addition, the influences of incident wavelength and microcavity thickness on EOT are also investigated. Our research has potential applications in advanced optical devices, such as light switch and optical manipulations.