Abstract

Three-dimensional polarization states of random light can be classified into regular and nonregular according to the structure of the related $3\times 3$ polarization matrix. Here we show that any purely evanescent wave excited in total internal reflection of a partially polarized plane-wave field is always in a nonregular polarization state. The degree of nonregularity of such evanescent waves is also studied in terms of a recently advanced measure. Nonregular evanescent waves uncover new aspects of the polarimetric structure and dimensional character of electromagnetic near fields, with potential applications in nanoscale surface optics.

© 2019 Optical Society of America

Nonregularity of three-dimensional polarization states

José J. Gil, Andreas Norrman, Ari T. Friberg, and Tero Setälä
Opt. Lett. 43(19) 4611-4614 (2018)

Generation of nearly 3D-unpolarized evanescent optical near fields using total internal reflection

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Intensity and spin anisotropy of three-dimensional polarization states

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Opt. Lett. 44(14) 3578-3581 (2019)

Axial super-resolution evanescent wave tomography

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Three-dimensional polarization effects in optical tunneling

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J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 40(10) 1831-1840 (2023)