Multiple surface plasmon–polariton waves guided by the interfaceof a metal and a periodically nonhomogeneous magnetic material

The excitation of multiple surface plasmon–polariton (SPP) waves guided by the interface of a homogeneous metal and a periodically nonhomogeneous magnetic material was studied theoretically. The solution of the canonical boundary-value problem indicated that multiple SPP waves of different polarization states, phase speeds, spatial profiles, and attenuation rates can be guided by the interface of the metal and the periodically nonhomogeneous magnetic material. The multiplicity of SPP waves can only be attributed to the periodic nonhomogeneity of the magnetic material.