Surface Plasmon Excitation: Theory, Configurations, and Applications

This review presents the theory, configurations, and various applications of plasmonics in a variety of surface plasmon–based devices. It describes how light waves travel along the surface where metals and dielectrics meet, revealing the detailed reasons behind the phenomenon. Here, we have used the well-known Drude optical model, a widely accepted theoretical approach, to figure out how different materials behave by considering atoms as tiny vibrating dipoles. In this review, we have thoroughly looked at many aspects, all wrapped up in the concept of complex dielectric functions. We used Maxwell’s equations customized for simple, non-magnetic materials to derive the above mentioned model, with the goal of helping to better grasp how surface plasmon polaritons are generated. In this research, we have organized the conditions needed for momentum matching by applying particular boundary conditions. Along with, we presented different techniques required for the generation of surface plasmon polaritons. We studied how metal and dielectric materials work together, by making comparisons to different optical devices along the way. Our main focus on the subject highlights the significant possibilities that this theory and research offers to various plasmonic applications.