Peculiarities of the spectrum of reflected and transmitted light of circular polarization for a thin layer of an anisotropic wurtzite-type crystal near phonon resonance

Abstract

Background. Polaritons attract the attention of researchers and engineers with their unique properties and promising applications in the field of micro- and nanoelectronics. Such applications could include devices such as transistors or even polaritons lasers, as have been reported in the scientific literature. Aim. The work analyzes the frequency reflection spectra upon excitation of polaritons, and also considers the change in the polarization ellipse upon reflection of circularly polarized light from an anisotropic crystal. Methods. Based on the wave equation in an anisotropic medium, a dispersion equation for polaritons is derived. To calculate energy reflection coefficients using the characteristic matrix method. Results. An aluminum nitride AlN crystal was chosen as the object of analysis. It is shown that the use of circularly polarized incident radiation makes it possible, using an anisotropic crystal, to change the nature of polarization from circular to almost linear polarization. Conclusion. The found dependence of the polarization of reflected light can be used in electronic devices based on polaritons.

Keywords

• polariton
• uniaxial anisotropic wurtzite-type crystal
• phonon resonance
• ellipsometry
• polarization ellipse
• circular polarization
• elliptical polarization