Enhancement of the Local Electromagnetic Field over Planar “Particles” Formed on the Surface of a Polar Crystal

Small “particles” of an open surface were formed on a SiC polar crystal with openings in the opaque metal mask covering the sample. The dimensions of the holes were about surface phonon polariton wavelength. Such a sample was irradiated with an electromagnetic wave ( λ = 10.68μm) at a frequency close to the lattice resonance of SiC. A significant enhancement in the field amplitude of surface phonon polariton waves was detected over such “particles” compared to the amplitude over an infinite open surface of SiC. Such a phenomenon, observed by us in the IR band, is similar to plasmon resonance on small metal particles in the visible band, but the lateral resolution of the ASNOM used (no worse than 30 nm at 10 μm) makes the obtained field distribution more detailed. The maps of the local field amplitude and phase obtained on SiC surface with ASNOM are in a good quantitative agreement with simulations using the Green’s function.