Subwavelength Focusing of Light From a Metallic Slit Surrounded by Grooves with Chirped Period

Extraordinary phenomena related to the transmission of light via metallic films with subwavelength holes and grooves are known to be due to resonant excitation and interference of surface waves. These waves make various surface structures to have optically effective responses. Further, a related study subject involves the control of light transmitted from a single hole or slit by surrounding it with diffractive structures. This paper reports on the effects of controlling light with a periodic groove structure with Fresnel-type chirping. In Fresnel-type chirping, diffracted surface waves are coherently converged into a focus, and it is designed considering the conditions of constructive interference and angular spectrum optimization under the assumption that the surface waves are composite diffracted evanescent waves with a well-defined in-plane wavenumber. The focusing ability of the chirped periodic structures is confirmed experimentally by two-beam attenuated total reflection coupling. Critical factors for achieving subwavelength foci and bounds on size of focal spots are discussed in terms of the simulation, which uses the FDTD algorithm.