Figure 38.

(a) Spatial distribution of the TE field (E_z) of the TE₀ mode (λ = 600 nm) propagating in a planar glass/dielectric/Ag waveguide. The metal layer tends to expel the optical field as a result of which a photonic mode propagates primarily through a low-optical-loss dielectric layer. (b) A spatial distribution of the TM field (H_z) of the TM₀ wave propagating in the same waveguide. The wave propagates along the metal surface as a “lossy” plasmonic mode. (c) Decay of the optical field intensity for the TE₀ and TM₀ modes during propagation in the waveguide. Adapted with permission from ref (62) (CC-BY 4.0).