Multiple-scattering dipole approach to modeling of surface plasmon polariton band gap structures

Abstract

Elastic (in the surface plane) scattering of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) by a finite-size periodic structure of surface scatterers is modeled by using the multiple-scattering approach, in which the response of an individual scatterer to the incident field is described by its isotropic dipolar polarizability. Numerical simulations are carried out for 400 pointlike scatterers arranged in a 400-nm-period triangular lattice containing line defects of different width in ΓK direction of the irreducible Brillouin zone of the lattice. We obtain that the SPP excited within the wavelength range of 690–730 nm is efficiently reflected by the periodic structure while the 1.6-μm-wide line defect supports the unhindered SPP propagation. These findings are compared with the available experimental results.