Drude-Lorentz model of semiconductor optical plasmons

Abstract

Theoretical solutions are obtained for the propagation of electromagnetic waves at optical frequencies along a semiconductor/dielectric interface when losses are taken into account in the form of a complex dielectric function. A combination method for the dielectric function, comprised of the best features of the Drude and Lorentz models, is herein proposed. By including the loss term in both models, we were able to obtain numerical solutions for the Plasma dispersion curve of the semiconductor/dielectric interface. The surface plasmon waves, when excited, become short wavelength waves in the Optical frequency or THz region. A silicon/air structure was used as our semiconductor/dielectric material combination, and comparisons were made to optical plasmons generated without losses. Our initial numerical calculation results show enormous potential for use in several applications. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.