Polarization dependence of light intensity distribution near a nanometric aluminum slit
The near-field radiation pattern of a long thin slit (with a width much smaller than the excitation wavelength) in a uniform aluminum surface was measured and modeled by numerical computation. In particular, the interplay between the incident light polarization and the slit width is found to play an essential role in the near-field profile on the back side of the nanoslits. Two-dimensional finite-