Scattering of a surface plasmon polariton by rapid plasma creation in a semiconductor slab

The scattering of a surface plasmon polariton in a semiconductor slab by ra pid plasma creation in the slab is explored. As a result of the scattering, the initial surface wave breaks up into two frequency-upshifted surface wa ves propagating in opposite directions slang the slab and generates a stati c magnetic field and a de inside the slab and transient radiation that esca pes the slab. A part of the initial energy can also be trapped inside the s lab owing to total internal reflection and forms frequency-upshifted guided modes of the slab. The scattering of a surface wave by a rapidly created p lasma allows the analysis of basic processes that occur in nonstationary me dia in the presence of boundaries. The practical applications include the c ontrol of propagation of guided radiation in integrated optics devices, cou pling the radiation out of waveguides, and ultrafast transient spectroscopy of an electron-hole plasma in semiconductors. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America [S0740-3224(99)03111-2].