The experimental demonstration and characterization is made of the plasmon-mediated resonant transmission through an embedded undulated continuous thin metal film under normal incidence. 1D undulations are shown to enable a spatially resolved polarisation filtering whereas 2D undulations lead to spatially resolved, polarization independent transmission. Whereas the needed submicron microstructure lends itself in principle to CD-like low-cost mass replication by means of injection moulding and embossing, the present paper demonstrates the expected transmission effects on experimental models based on metal-coated photoresist gratings. The spectral and angular dependence in the neighbourhood of resonance are investigated and the question of the excess losses exhibited by surface plasmons is discussed.

The aim of this work is to measure the temperature variations by analyzing the plasmon signature on a metallic surface that is periodically structured and immersed in a liquid. A change in the temperature of the sample surface induces a modification of the local refractive index leading to a shift of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) frequency due to the strong interaction between the evanescent electric field and the metallic surface. The experimental set-up used in this study to detect the refractive index changes is based on a metallic grating permitting a direct excitation of a plasmon wave, leading to a high sensibility, high-temperature range and contactless sensor within a very compact and simple device. The experimental set-up demonstrated that SPR could be used as a non-invasive, high-resolution temperature measurement method for metallic surfaces.

We propose a simple and flexible fabrication approach based on the moiré effect of photoresist gratings for rapid synthesis of apodized structures with continuously varying depth. Minor modifications in a standard laser interference lithography setup allow creating macroscopic, visible by naked eye moiré patterns that modulate the depth of subwavelength diffraction gratings. The spatial frequency of this modulation is easily controlled in a wide range, allowing to create a quasicrystal in extreme cases. Experimental results are confirmed by a theory with clear graphical solutions and numerical modeling. The method is universal and does not depend on a specific choice of photoresist and/or substrate materials, making it a promising choice for structured light applications, optical security elements or as a basic structuring method of complex optical devices.

The interferogram of a high index phase mask of 200 nm period under normal incidence of a collimated beam at 244 nm wavelength with substantially suppressed zeroth order produces a 100 nm period grating in a resist film under immersion. The paper describes the phase mask design, its fabrication, the effect of electron-beam lithographic stitching errors and optical assessment of the fabricated sub-cutoff grating.

This paper describes a successful technological transfer, from a state laboratory to an industrial company, for writing long and large submicron period gratings (potentially square-meter sized), implemented in an industrial direct laser beam writing equipment at 355 nm wavelength (Dilase 750 from KLOE SA company). The writing head, which has been inserted in the machine, consists of a phase mask which enables it to project a set of fringes pattern of small area onto a photoresist-coated substrate. As the substrate is continuously moving, one-dimensional or two-dimensional gratings can be fabricated over large areas limited only by the machine’s stage displacement range. The optical scheme is described from the beam shaping to the printing processes and the phase mask optimization. In order to demonstrate the technology, 600 nm period gratings of over 20 cm in length have been fabricated. Such submicron structures can be used in solar cell modules for photon trapping and as antireflection coatings.

Surface plasmon coupling of a TM polarized free space incident beam by means of the + 1st or the −2nd order of a smooth corrugation grating at a metal surface causes the cancellation of the diffracted −1st order free space beam and a maximum of the 0th order Fresnel reflection whereas the converse occurs midway between these two conditions. This implies that angular tilting of the element or wavelength scanning provokes the switching between the −1st and 0th reflected orders. This plasmon-mediated effect on propagating free-space beams exhibits remarkably low absorption losses.