Analytical model of the enhanced light transmission through subwavelength metal slits: Green's function formalism versus Rayleigh's expansion

Abstract

We present an analytical model of the resonantly enhanced transmission of light through a subwavelength nm-size slit in a thick metal film. The simple formulae for the transmitted electromagnetic fields and the transmission coefficient are derived by using the narrow-slit approximation and the Green's function formalism for the solution of Maxwell's equations. The resonance wavelengths are in agreement with the semi-analytical model [Y. Takakura, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5601 (2001)], which solves the wave equations by using the Rayleigh field expansion. Our formulae, however, show great resonant enhancement of a transmitted wave, while the Rayleigh expansion model predicts attenuation. The difference is attributed to the near-field subwavelength diffraction, which is not considered by the Rayleigh-like expansion models.