An asymptotic theory for waves guided by diffraction gratings or along microstructured surfaces. (English) Zbl 1371.78101

Antonakakis, T.; Craster, R. V.; Guenneau, S.; Skelton, E. A.

Proc. R. Soc. Lond., Ser. A, Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 470, No. 2161, Article ID 20130467, 22 p. (2014).

Summary: An effective surface equation, that encapsulates the detail of a microstructure, is developed to model microstructured surfaces. The equations deduced accurately reproduce a key feature of surface wave phenomena, created by periodic geometry, that are commonly called Rayleigh-Bloch waves, but which also go under other names, for example, spoof surface plasmon polaritons in photonics. Several illustrative examples are considered and it is shown that the theory extends to similar waves that propagate along gratings. Line source excitation is considered, and an implicit long-scale wavelength is identified and compared with full numerical simulations. We also investigate non-periodic situations where a long-scale geometrical variation in the structure is introduced and show that localized defect states emerge which the asymptotic theory explains.

MSC:

78A50	Antennas, waveguides in optics and electromagnetic theory
82D10	Statistical mechanical studies of plasmas