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Optical response of finite-thickness ultrathin plasmonic films

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Abstract

We show that the optical response of ultrathin metallic films of finite lateral size and thickness can feature peculiar magneto-optical effects resulting from the spatial confinement of the electron motion. In particular, the frequency dependence of the magnetic permeability of the film exhibits a sharp resonance structure shifting to the red as the film aspect ratio increases. The films can also be negatively refractive in the IR frequency range under proper tuning. We show that these magneto-optical properties can be controlled by adjusting the film chemical composition, plasmonic material quality, the aspect ratio, and the surroundings of the film.

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Acknowledgments

I.V.B. is supported by NSF-ECCS-1306871. Work of H.M. is funded by DOE-DE-SC0007117. Work on this project by V.M.S. is supported in part by ONR-N00014-16-1-3003. Discussions with Mikhail Lapine (UT-Sydney, Australia), Alexander Kildishev, Zhaxylyk Kudyshev, and Michael Povolotskyi (all from Purdue University, USA) are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Math & Physics Department, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, 27707, USA

    Igor V. Bondarev & Hamze Mousavi

  2. School of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Vladimir M. Shalaev

Authors
  1. Igor V. Bondarev
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  2. Hamze Mousavi
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  3. Vladimir M. Shalaev
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Correspondence to Igor V. Bondarev.

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Bondarev, I.V., Mousavi, H. & Shalaev, V.M. Optical response of finite-thickness ultrathin plasmonic films. MRS Communications 8, 1092–1097 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2018.153

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