METHOD OF CONVERTING MONOCHROMATIC INFRARED RADIATION TO SURFACE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE Russian patent published in 2011 - IPC G01J3/00 H01L31/00 B82B1/00 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: method of converting monochromatic infrared radiation to a surface electromagnetic wave (SEW) involves placing a sample on a transparent solid-body substrate, p-polarisation of the radiation relative the SEW guiding surface of the sample, illumination of part of the sample with radiation through the substrate, the illuminated part of the sample has thickness which varies smoothly from 10 nm to 50 nm and the radiation is formed into a collimated beam whose cross-section is smaller than the propagation length of the SEW and is directed onto the sample at an angle φ, which satisfies the condition: n·sin(φ)=k', where n is the refraction index of the substrate, k' is the real part of the refraction index of the SEW.

EFFECT: invention enables generation of SEW which is not accompanied with a set of volume electromagnetic waves propagating over the surface of the sample in the plane of incidence, which enables design of a new generation of plasma spectrometers of the infrared range with high signal-to-noise ratio without recourse to use of special equipment for suppressing spurious volume radiation or separation thereof from SEW.

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