Ghost surface polaritons in naturally uniaxial hyperbolic materials

Abstract

We investigated ghost surface phonon polaritons localized in a naturally uniaxial hyperbolic material, where the longitudinal axis (optical axis) is at any angle with respect to the surface plane. Two ghost surface phonon polaritons (GSPs) were found in the two Reststrahlen frequency bands, respectively. They are two TM surface waves, and their electromagnetic fields not only attenuate but also oscillate with the distance away from the surface. Unlike conventional surface phonon polaritons, GSPs are virtual surface phonon-polariton modes without electrostatic limit. The numerical simulations of the GSP dispersion and polarization properties were based on the hexagonal boron nitride, and the numerical simulation of the attenuated total reflection (ATR) experiment demonstrates the existence of the GSPs and prove their excitability and observability.