Abstract

Here we present theoretical work investigating the use of periodic evanescent fields produced by totally internally reflecting light from a surface onto which has been patterned a diffraction grating. If the period of this grating is significantly less than the wavelength of the light being used, the evanescent field subsequently produced possesses a period which is equal to that of the physical grating. The decay rate of the field away from the surface is also strongly influenced by the grating period and the field decays more rapidly as the grating period decreases. Hence, a ‘light’ grating can be produced with a period which depends only on current microfabrication tolerances.

© 1996 Optical Society of America