NANOMATERIALS NANOENGINEERING

AND NANOSYSTEMS
Original Article

Proc IMechE Part N:

J Nanomaterials, Nanoengineering and
Nanosystems
Mechanism analyzation of the effects 2018, Vol. 232(1) 41–47
Ó IMechE 2017
of grating parameters on polarization Reprints and permissions:
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transmission of single-layer nanowire DOI: 10.1177/2397791417744966

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gratings

Wang Zhiwen, Gong Jinliang, Dong Aimei and Cui Bo

Abstract
Using equivalent medium theory, surface plasma resonance theory and Fabry–Pérot resonance theory, transmission
mechanism of single-layer nanowire polarizer is systematically analyzed. Concept of skin depth is used to explain the
effect of grating material on polarization transmission. Two transmission minimum points in the curve of grating period
versus transverse magnetic transmission are analyzed quantitatively. Effects of grating duty cycle, height and type on
polarization transmission of single-layer nanowire polarizer are also analyzed. The requirements of designing single-layer
sub-wavelength metal gratings with good polarization properties are given. The analysis of the transmission mechanism
of sub-wavelength metal gratings will be helpful for the design and fabrication of the gratings with good polarization
properties.

Keywords
Transmission mechanism, surface plasma, sub-wavelength metal gratings, equivalent medium theory, Fabry–Pérot
resonance

Date received: 24 June 2017; accepted: 27 July 2017

Introduction needed. The equivalent medium theory (EMT), surface

Wire-grid polarizer (WGP) is a very attractive alternative
to conventional polarizer because it demonstrates good
polarization efficiency, wide view angle, long-term stabi-
lity and the potential to integrate with other thin-film
optical components. WGP has promising application
prospects in many fields, such as optical communication
and liquid crystal display. Researchers have designed
many kinds of polarizers,1–3 and these polarizers have
good polarization performance in visible or infrared
band. Meng et al.4 calculated the effects of grating para-
meters on polarization performance. Liu et al.5 analyzed
the extraordinary transmission at the resonant wave-
lengths, and three different resonance wavelengths were
pointed to be influenced by metal material, grating
period and grating height. Anttu et al.6 analyzed the
effect of surface plasma polaritons (SPP) on transmission
enhancement of double-layer metal gratings.
Recently, the effect of grating parameters on polari-
zation performance of single-layer nanowire polarizer
has been calculated and analyzed by many researchers.
However, it is quite complicated and abstract to under-
stand. Systematically and physically analyzation is still
plasma resonance (SPR) theory and Fabry–Pérot reso-
nance (FPR) theory have clear physical implication, and
the calculation equation is also quite simple. In this arti-
cle, EMT, SPR and FPR theory are used to systemati-
cally explain polarization transmission phenomenon and
the effects of grating parameters on polarization perfor-
mance. To explain the same phenomenon from different
point of view helps to understand polarization perfor-
mance of single-layer nanowire polarizer more clearly.
Effect of metal material on polarization
performance
If the incident wave is polarized along the wire direction
(transverse electric (TE) polarization light), the
School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University of Technology,
Zibo, China
Corresponding author:
Wang Zhiwen, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shandong University of
Technology, Zibo, Shandong Province 255000, China.
Email: wangzw226@163.com
42
conduction electrons are driven along the length of the
wires with unrestricted movement. The physical
response of the wire grid is essentially the same as that
of a thin metal sheet.7
According to EMT, the equivalent refractive index
can be calculated as follows
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
nTE = DC(n1 + ik1 )2 + (1  DC)(n2 + ik2 )2
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
(n1 + ik1 )2 (n2 + ik2 )2
nTM =
DC(n2 + ik2 )2 + (1  DC)(n1 + ik1 )2
where DC refers to the duty cycle of the grating. n and
k refer to refractive index and extinction coefficient,
respectively, and the subscripts 1 and 2 refer to the
material of grating and groove, respectively. The groove
material is usually air, so n2 = 1, k2 = 0. To simplify
calculation, the metal can be seen as perfect conductor
(k1 ! ‘). The equivalent TE and transverse magnetic
(TM) polarization are calculated as follows
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
nTE ’ik1 DC ð3Þ
nTM ’(1  DC)2
1
As is shown in the above equation, for TE polariza-
tion, the refractive index of metal grating only remains
the imaginary part. The metal grating can be equivalent
to metal film, and most of TE polarization light is
reflected back and absorbed. For TM polarization, the
refractive index of metal grating only remains the real
part, and the grating can be equivalent to dielectric
film. However, the metal is actually not perfect conduc-
tor, so the grating should be equivalent to a dielectric
film that has weak absorption character, and most of
the TM polarization (transverse magnetic) light is
transmitted. In conclusion, the sub-wavelength metal
grating has different transmission for TE and TM
polarization light, and it can be used as a polarizer.
Since the metal grating can be seen as metal film
when the TE polarization light incident on the grating,
the skin depth phenomenon is involved. After the light
incident on the surface and penetrate for a certain depth
of ‘‘d,’’ the energy of electromagnetic wave reduced to
1/e of the incident wave, and the depth ‘‘d’’ is called skin
depth. In order to absorb the TE polarization light as
much as possible, the grating height should be much
larger than the skin depth.
According to the solid optics theory, the skin depth
‘‘d’’ can be calculated as follows
l where p refers to grating period, and n0 refers to the
d=
4pk1
where l refers to the wavelength of incident light. It can
be seen that skin depth is inversely proportional to k1.
Figure 1 shows the imaginary part of refractive index of
different metals.
As is shown in Figure 1, the refractive index of alu-
minum is much larger than other metals, so the skin
depth of aluminum is the smallest. Thus, the TE
Proc IMechE Part N: J Nanoengineering and Nanosystems 232(1)
ð1Þ
ð2Þ
Figure 1. The relation of the refractive index of several metals
with wavelength.
polarization reflectivity of aluminum nanowire grating
is the largest. There is no obvious difference of trans-
ð4Þ mission efficiency of TM polarization light between dif-
ferent metal gratings, so the aluminum nanowire
grating has the highest extinction ratio (ratio of TM
transmission against TE transmission) among the com-
mon used metal gratings, and sub-wavelength metal
grating usually use aluminum as the grating material.
Effect of grating parameters on
polarization performance
Effect of grating period on polarization performance
The structure parameters of sub-wavelength WGP
include period, duty cycle and thickness. The key factor
that determines the performance of polarizer is the
grating period. Metal grating shows good polarization
property when the period is much smaller than wave-
length of incident light, in this situation, the grating has
only the zeroth order diffraction wave. The grating
functions as a diffraction grating when the period is
larger than wavelength of incident light.
When the light normally incident on the grating, the
threshold period under which only the zero-order dif-
fraction transmitted and the reflected is8
l
p= ð6Þ
n0
ð5Þ refractive index of the substrate. Higher diffraction
wave would emerge if grating period is larger than the
threshold period. In order to get good polarization per-
formance, smaller grating period should be used.
Figure 2 shows the effect of grating period on TM
and TE transmission efficiency. Grating height is set to
be 200 nm, and grating and substrate material is set as
aluminum and SiO2, respectively. In this article, rigor-
ous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA)9 is used to
Zhiwen et al. 43

Figure 2. The effect of the grating period on polarization performance: (a) the relation of wavelength with TM transmission when
the period is 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 mm; (b) the relation of wavelength with TM transmission when the wavelength is 0.5 mm; and
(c) the relation of wavelength with TE transmission when the period is 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 mm.

calculate the transmission efficiency of TM and TE
polarization light.
As is shown in Figure 2(a), minimum point would
appear before it reaches to the transmission peak point.
The first minimum point is marked using a circle and
the second is marked using a box (also shown in
Figure 2(b)). The position of minimum points red shifts
with the increasing of grating period. The value of the
peak transmission efficiency decreases with the increas-
ing of grating period.
In the first minimum point, the grating period is
quite close to wavelength. Equation (7) is the excitation
condition of SPR10,11
2p
kspp = k0 sin u6m
p 61th order diffraction wave, and minimum point of
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ed em
kspp = k0
ed + em
where k0 and kspp refer to wave vector of incident light
and SPP, respectively. m refers to integer, and u refers
to incident light angle. em and ed refer to dielectric con-
stant of metal and the material that surround metal,
respectively.
When the light normally incident on the grating,
and p = mlspp, SPR could be generated on the metal
surface. According to equation (7), lspp is only slightly
small than wavelength of the incident light. The first
minimum point in Figure 2(a) is explained as the
appearance of SPR, and SPR would suppress TM
transmission.
In the second minimum point, the ratio of wave-
length to grating period is quite close to the refractive
index of substrate. According to equation (6), the 61th
order diffraction wave appears at this point. So, the
energy of the 0th order diffraction wave is allocated to
TM transmission appears. The position of the second
ð7Þ minimum point would red shift with the increasing of
grating period.
As is shown in Figure 2(c), TE polarization efficiency
increases rapidly with the increasing of grating period.
44
Figure 3. The effect of duty cycle (DC) on polarization performance: (a) the relation of wavelength with TM transmission and (b)
the relation of wavelength with extinction ratio.
The extinction ratio would drop very fast, so smaller
grating period should be used to get better polarization
performance.
The effect of grating duty cycle on polarization
performance
The grating parameters are set as follows: both grating
period and height are set as 200 nm, and duty cycle is
set from 0.3 to 0.7. Figure 3 shows the calculation result
using RCWA method.
As is shown in Figure 3, the extinction ratio increases
with the increasing of DC, while the TM transmission
decreases. The ratio of metal increases with the increase
in DC, and according to EMT, the grating performs
more like metal film. Thus, the absorption increases
and TM transmission decreases. The equivalent skin
depth also decreases and thus leads to the decrease in
TE transmission. The decrease in TE transmission is far
more than TM transmission, thus the extinction ratio
increases.
As is shown in Figure 3(a), the position of peak TM
transmission red shifts with the increasing of DC.
Grating period of sub-wavelength metal grating is
smaller than wavelength of the incident light, and sur-
face plasma cannot be generated. However, local sur-
face plasma (LSP) exists on the metal grating, surface
plasma along the grating surface or slit can be gener-
ated with the attenuation of LSP. LSP first transfers to
the surface plasma that travels along the slit, and if the
grating parameters meet the condition of FPR, the
transmission of the wave would be greatly enhanced.
The slit width influences the wavelength of surface
plasma (SP) in the slit, and equation (8) is the calcula-
tion of the effective refractive index of the slit12
 
kd
ed km + em kd tanh w =0
2
Proc IMechE Part N: J Nanoengineering and Nanosystems 232(1)
k2d = b2  ed k20
k2m = b2  em k20
neff = b=k0
lg = l0 =neff ð8Þ
where neff refers to the effective refractive index of the
slit, b is the propagation constant of SPPs and lg is the
wavelength of the surface plasma in the slit. Figure 4
shows the relationship between the slit width and effec-
tive refractive index. It can be seen that neff decreases
with the increasing of slit width and lg increases.
According to FPR theory, wavelength of the SP in the
slit that lead to transmission enhancement is set when
the other grating parameters are determined. When the
slit increases, the position of peak transmission would
shift to left. So, the increase in the duty circle of the
grating would lead to the red shift of the position of
peak transmission.
The distribution of the magnetic field is calculated
using Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method,
as is shown in Figure 5. Large fields are concentrated
on the upper side and lower side of metal surface, thus
leading to high absorption. When the light (LSP light)
travels from upper side of grating to the slits, the
fields gradually weakens, and surface plasma along
the slit can be generated. And in the position that
meets the condition of FPR, the transmission of the
wave would be greatly enhanced. If this position
locates at the end of the slit, TM transmission would
be greatly enhanced.
The effect of grating height on transmission efficiency
The grating parameters are set as follows: grating
period is set as 200 nm, duty cycle is 0.5 and wavelength
of the incident light is set to be 500 nm. Figure 6 shows
the calculation result using RCWA method.
Zhiwen et al.
Figure 4. The relation of slit width with effective refractive
index.
Figure 5. Distribution of magnetic field of the nanowire metal
gratings.
As is shown in Figure 6, TM transmission efficiency
periodically decreases and the extinction ratio exponen-
tially increases with the increase in the grating height.
The increase in the grating height adds the absorption
of TE polarization, and transmission of TE polariza-
tion would reduce rapidly. For TM polarization, the
grating should be equivalent to a dielectric film that
has weak absorption character, thus the TM transmis-
sion would decrease too. However, TM transmission
would increase every time the grating height meets the
condition of F-P resonance, thus TM transmission effi-
ciency would periodically decrease. The decrease in TE
transmission is far more than TM transmission, thus
the extinction ratio increases.
The slit would exhibit like F-P resonance cavity
when the SP travels along the slit. According to FPR
theory, peak transmission appears when h’N(lg =2),13
and it is only the simplified equation. Errors exist
between the calculation and actual result. However, the
distance between two adjacent transmission peaks can
be precisely calculated by setting N = 1, which is
0
h = lg =2. In this article, the wavelength of the incident
light is 500 nm, and the effective refractive index is
45
Figure 6. The effect of grating height on polarization
performance.
calculated to be neff = 1.1298 and lg = 442.55 nm. So,
the distance between two adjacent transmission peaks
is calculated to be 221.28 nm, and the result is consis-
tent with RCWA.
According to the simplified equation, multiple peaks
would appear in the TM transmission spectrum with
the increasing of grating height. However, the absorp-
tion would be increased, too. Thus, the TM transmis-
sion in Figure 6 shows periodical decreases. The
distance of two adjacent transmission peaks equals to
half of the wavelength of surface plasma that travels
along the slit.
For TE polarization light, it cannot excite SPP or
LSP. So TE polarization light cannot generate the wave
that can travel along slit, and most of TE polarization
light are absorbed or reflected by the grating. With the
increasing of the grating height, transmission efficiency
of TE polarization light would drop exponentially, and
the extinction ratio increases enormously.
Effect of grating type on polarization transmission
Different types of gratings can be as effective as the
change of grating height and duty cycle. Gratings that
have rectangular section get better polarization perfor-
mance than gratings that have triangle, trapezoid or
sinusoid section, because these gratings are as effective
as decrease of grating height and duty cycle, thus the
extinction ratio drops quickly.
Conclusion
The transmission phenomena of sub-wavelength metal
gratings and the effect of grating parameters on polari-
zation transmission are analyzed from the physical
level. EMT, SPR and FPR theory are used to analyze
the mechanism of the transmission peaks and troughs.
We can conclude that in order to get good polarization
transmission performance, single-layer nanowire polar-
izer should use aluminum as its metal material, has
smaller grating period, proper grating height and duty
46
cycle, and make the grating cross section to be
rectangular.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest
with respect to the research, authorship and/or publica-
tion of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the
research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
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