Surface bound waves and optical interactions in excitonic thin films

Abstract

Excitonic films such as J-aggregate-doped polymer films can exhibit sharp Lorentzian dispersions and thus have various optical features in the visible region. They can even show an optically metallic response and can be considered as alternative plasmonic materials. However, there were no systematic studies on optical interactions in such excitonic films. Here, we perform theoretical investigations on optical modes and interactions in planar excitonic thin films. We gradually vary the dye concentration and the film thickness and study optical coupling to surface bound waves (surface polariton modes and epsilon-near-zero modes). We also investigate thin-film interferences in high-loss and low-loss regimes. Finally, we discuss the freespace impedance matching that can result from the Lorentzian dispersion in excitonic films. Our work enables in-depth understandings on optical interactions in excitonic films and it can provide guidelines for various nanophotonic applications in the visible region.