Modal phenomena of surface and bulk polaritons in magnetic-semiconductor superlattices

Abstract

We discuss peculiarities of bulk and surface polaritons propagating in a composite magnetic-semiconductor superlattice influenced by an external static magnetic field. Three particular configurations of magnetization, namely the Voigt, polar and Faraday geometries are considered. In the long-wavelength limit, involving the effective medium theory, the proposed superlattice is described as an anisotropic uniform medium defined by the tensors of effective permittivity and effective permeability. The study is carried out in the frequency band where the characteristic resonant frequencies of the underlying constitutive magnetic and semiconductor materials of the superlattice are different but closely spaced. The effects of mode crossing and anti-crossing in dispersion characteristics of both bulk and surface polaritons are revealed and explained with an assistance of the concept of Morse critical points from the catastrophe theory.