Abstract
Three-dimensional polarization states of random light can be classified into regular and nonregular according to the structure of the related 3×3 polarization matrix. Here we show that any purely evanescent wave excited in total internal reflection of a partially polarized plane-wave field is always in a nonregular polarization state. The degree of nonregularity of such evanescent waves is also studied in terms of a recently advanced measure. Nonregular evanescent waves uncover new aspects of the polarimetric structure and dimensional character of electromagnetic near fields, with potential applications in nanoscale surface optics.
Highlights
In this Letter, we examine the spectral polarimetric structure of an evanescent field generated by a partially polarized plane wave in total internal reflection at a lossless dielectric interface
Our focus is on evanescent waves, the analysis reveals that any partially polarized refracted wave is in a regular polarization state
We investigate further the nonregularity of 3D evanescent waves by utilizing a recently introduced measure, the degree of nonregularity [19], and show that, under certain circumstances, an evanescent wave is virtually in a so-called perfect nonregular state of maximal polarimetric nonregularity
Summary
The polarization states of such genuine 3D light fields can be classified into regular and nonregular states according to the nature of their characteristic decomposition [18]. In this Letter, we examine the spectral polarimetric structure of an evanescent field generated by a partially polarized plane wave in total internal reflection at a lossless dielectric interface. If Φm eigenvalue 0 ≤ m 3 ≤ 1∕4 of is instead a complex matrix, Re Φm is zero it corresponds to an equiprobable mixture of two mutually orthogonal states whose electric-field ellipses lie in different planes [18], whereby Φm does not represent unpolarized 2D light but genuine 3D light.
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