In this study, wave propagation through metallo-dielectric (MD) films is studied using an extension of the transfer matrix method. A beam with transverse structure is simulated using a superposition of plane waves. Gaussian beams are examined as incident waves on MD structures. The first part of this thesis is devoted to plane wave propagation through MD structures. Different optical and physical phenomena are systematically calculated, analyzed and discussed, including the transmission and reflection coefficients, and the group index, for three different MD structures by varying parameters such as the metal and dielectric film thicknesses, and the wavelength. The materials used in the design include silver, gold and copper as metals, and gallium phosphate, titanium oxide and silica as dielectrics.
For the second part of the thesis, both 1D and 2D Gaussian beam propagation through MD structures are studied with a subset of the materials from the first part. The Gaussian quadrature method is used for Fourier transforming the Gaussian beam profile. The far-field and near-field output intensity profiles for s and p polarization are also calculated for different designs, and candidates for super-resolution are identified.
The model is not an exact solution of the physical beam propagation problem, since the super-resolved Gaussian beam is imposed at the input face. However, the results identify potential candidates for super-resolution, and our inferences are in agreement with published results showing super-resolution.