Enhanced transmission versus localization of a light pulse by a subwavelength metal slit: Can the pulse have both characteristics?

The existence of resonant enhanced transmission and collimation of light waves by subwavelength slits in metal films [for example, see T.W. Ebbesen et al., Nature (London) 391, 667 (1998) and H.J. Lezec et al., Science, 297, 820 (2002)] leads to the basic question: Can a light be enhanced and simultaneously localized in space and time by a subwavelength slit? To address this question, the spatial distribution of the energy flux of an ultrashort (femtosecond) wave-packet diffracted by a subwavelength (nanometer-size) slit was analyzed by using the conventional approach based on the Neerhoff and Mur solution of Maxwell's equations. The results show that a light can be enhanced by orders of magnitude and simultaneously localized in the near-field diffraction zone at the nm- and fs-scales. Possible applications in nanophotonics are discussed.

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