Transmission spectra of metallic films or membranes perforated by arrays of subwavelength slits or holes have been widely interpreted as resonance absorption by surface plasmon polaritons. Alternative interpretations involving evanescent waves diffracted on the surface have also been proposed. These two approaches lead to divergent predictions for some surface wave properties. Using far-field interferometry, we have carried out a series of measurements on elementary one-dimensional subwavelength structures with the aim of testing key properties of the surface waves and comparing them to predictions of these two points of view. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.213901 PACS numbers: 42.25.Fx, 73.20.Mf, 78.67.ÿn Early reports of extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) through arrays of subwavelength holes in thin films and membranes [1][2][3], enhanced well beyond conventional expectation [4] have motivated numerous attempts to explain the underlying physics of these surprising results. Since the early experiments were carried out on metal films, surface plasmon polariton resonances [5,6] were invoked to explain the anomalously high transmission and to suggest new types of photonic devices [6]. Other interpretations based on ''dynamical diffraction'' in periodic slit and hole arrays [7,8] or various kinds of resonant cavity modes in 1D slits and slit arrays [9,10] have also been proposed. Reassessment of early EOT reports by new numerical studies [11,12] and new measurements [13] have motivated alternative interpretations based on interference and diffraction rather than resonant absorption. The composite diffractive evanescent wave (CDEW) model [13] constructs a surface wave from the distribution of diffracted evanescent modes (the inhomogeneous modes of the ''angular spectrum representation'' of wave fields [14]) originating at an abrupt surface discontinuity such as a subwavelength-sized hole, slit, or groove when irradiated by a coherent source. The CDEW model exhibits three specific properties. First, the surface wave is considered a composite of modes labeled by the propagation vector component parallel to the surface, and evanescent in the direction normal to the surface. This composite ''wave packet'' exhibits well-defined, regular nodal positions spaced by a characteristic wavelength, surf ; second, the appearance of the first node at a distance of surf =2 from the structured edge implies an effective phase delay of =2 with respect to the E field of the external driving source; and third, an amplitude decreasing inversely with distance from the launch site with an overall effective range of a few microns.We have fabricated 1D structures (slits and grooves with subwavelength widths) in thin silver films deposited on fused silica substrates. The optical response can be studied with the structures facing toward (input-side experiments) or away from (output-side experiments) a distant coherent light source. Results from the input-side experiments, exhibiting transmission interference as a function of slitgroove...

High density self-assembled platinum nanodots are elaborated using a radio frequence sputtering technique and embedded in memory structures. Electronic microscopy methods are used to characterize the morphology. Scanning electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy observations allow quantification of the density (>3×1012cm−2) and size (2–3nm) of the nanocrystals, whereas their crystallinity is investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Then, capacitance-voltage sweep measurements give excellent memory characteristics with a 7.1V maximal memory window. Promising retention performances and an estimation of the number of electrons stored in the metallic nanodots are also given in this paper.