title: Enhanced optical transmission at the cutoff transition.
abstract: The phenomenon of extraordinary transmission in the optical regime for circular hole arrays in optically thick metal films is studied as a function of hole size and depth. In the limit of small holes compared to the depth, the transmission properties follow a waveguide type behavior. By describing the transmission process as resulting from the interference between a resonant and a non-resonant contribution, a transition is clearly revealed through the specific spectral variations of the resonance at a given hole depth. This transition is associated to a change in the attenuation through the hole as its size increases, and corresponds to the optimal condition for surface plasmon excitation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Nanostructures, ISIS, Université Louis Pasteur and CNRS (UMR 7006), Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Laux
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Genet
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Ebbesen
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D008027:Light; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012031:Refractometry / Q000379:methods*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000379:methods*