Electromagnetic Properties of a Hybrid Solid-State Structure Incorporating a Plasma-Like Medium and a Metasurface
Abstract
In this paper, we theoretically investigate the dispersion properties of surface and bulk-surface electromagnetic waves propagating in a hybrid layered solid-state structure containing an isotropic plasmonic metasurface. This structure consists of a semi-infinite dielectric 1, an isotropic metasurface, a dielectric layer 2, and a semi-infinite plasma-like medium. We derive an exact analytical dispersion relation for the coupled electromagnetic modes and perform a comprehensive numerical analysis of it. Our analysis demonstrates how the metasurface conductivity, the dielectric layer thickness, and the semiconductor plasma frequency significantly influence the resonant interaction of the surface waves. It has been revealed that adding a plasma-like medium as a substrate leads to the emergence of hybrid surface waves and the possibility of bulk-surface waves. In fact, we found a significant difference between metal and semiconductor substrates. Indeed, to obtain exactly the same splitting value in a system with a metal substrate, a dielectric spacer approximately seven times thicker is required. This geometry difference makes semiconductors a much more practical choice for deep subwavelength miniaturization. The results provide a theoretical basis for the development and optimization of novel tunable waveguides, sensors, and slow-wave devices operating in the microwave and terahertz frequency ranges.
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Copyright (c) 2026 N.N. Beletskii, O.Yu. Averkov, Yu.O. Averkov

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