The effect of Anderson localization on surface plasmon polariton propagation and outward leakage when scattered by a randomly corrugated section of the interface

Abstract

The practical applications of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) require the deep understanding of the impact of electrical characteristics variability and geometrical irregularity of the metal-dielectric interface. Traditional methods in the theory of wave scattering at rough interfaces fail to treat simultaneously the interference (Anderson) localization of the SPP, which may arise due to its multiple back-scattering by random distortions of surface relief, and the leakage into the uniform dielectric half-space. In our previous works [Low Temp. Phys. \textbf{42}, 685 (2016); Ann.~Phys.~\textbf{455}, 169378 (2023)], by representing the perturbation of surface impedance as an effective potential in the Schrödinger-like equation, we suggested the way to describe the interplay between Anderson localization and the leakage of the SPP. In the present study we show that the problem of SPP scattering from finite geometrically rough region of the interface can be reduced to the problem of its scattering from the same region but with effective random impedance. We calculate the radiation pattern and demonstrate its pronounced anisotropy that arises due to the interplay between different geometrical parameters of the interface roughness.