Surface plasma waves in the noble metals

The dispersoon curves for surface plasma waves (SPW) in Ag have been determined from calculated reflectivity minima as exhibited by attenuated total reflection (ATR spectra) for the prism-metal-air (PMA) configuration and from the direct calculation of the dispersion relation for the same configuration. Comparison is made with published results. The dispersion curves for Au and Cu have been determined for the same configuration from calculated ATR spectra and verified experimentally. Comparison is made with the direct calculation of the dispersion relation. The direct calculation yields two types of modes; namely the surface or Brewster mode and the virtual mode. Both modes are discussed. The marked effect of small electronic damping as exhibited by Ag and moderate electronic damping as exhibited by Au and Cu upon the PMA dispersion curves from ATR spectra is examined. Finally the direct calculation of the dielectric shift (perturbing effect of the prism-metal surface upon the active metal-air surface dispersion curve) is presented for the three metals as a function of film thickness and photon energy.