Transmission resonances of metallic compound gratings with subwavelength slits

Transmission metallic gratings with subwavelength slits are known to produce enhanced transmitted intensity for certain resonant wavelengths. One of the mechanisms that produce these resonances is the excitation of waveguide modes inside the slits. We show that by adding slits to the period, the transmission maxima are widened and, simultaneously, this generates phase resonances that appear as sharp dips in the transmission response. These resonances are characterized by a significant enhancement of the interior field.