We investigate transmission of a normally incident, linearly polarized plane wave through a circular sub-wavelength hole in a metal film filled by a high index dielectric medium. We demonstrate for the first time that the trans-mission efficiency of such holes exhibits a Fabry-Pérot like behaviour versus thickness of the metal film, similar to that exhibited by sub-wavelength slits in metal films illuminated by TM-polarized plane waves. We show that by reducing the imaginary part of the propagation constant of the hybrid HE11 mode and by fortifying the Fabry-Pérot resonance, the high index dielectric filling can greatly enhance light transmission through a circular sub-wavelength hole.

© 2005 Optical Society of America

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5. R. Wannemacher, �??Plasmon supported transmission of light through nanometric hole in metallic thin films,�?? Optics comm. 195, 107-118 (2001).
6. J. Jin, The Finite Element Method in Electromagnetics (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2002).
7. A. P. Hippins, J. R. Sambles, and C. R. Lawrence, �??Gratingless enhanced microwave transmission through a subwavelength aperture in a thick metal plate,�?? Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 4661-4663 (2002). [CrossRef]
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10. A. Degiron and T. W. Ebbesen, "Analysis of the transmission process through single apertures surrounded by periodic corrugations," Opt. Express 12, 3694-3700 (2004), <a href= �??http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-12-16-3694�??>http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-12-16-3694</a>. [CrossRef]
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12. M. Okoniewski, M. Mrozowski, and M. A. Stuchly, �??Simple Treatment of Multi-Term Dispersion in FDTD,�?? IEEE Microwave Guided Wave Lett. 7, 121-123 (1997). [CrossRef]
13. Y. Takakura, �??Optical Resonance in a Narrow Slit in a Thick Metallic Screen,�?? Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5601�??603 (2001). [CrossRef]
14. K. Okamoto, Fundamentals of Optical Waveguides (Academic Press, San Diego, 2000).
15. E. D. Palik, Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids (Academic Press, New York, 1985).

Appl. Phys. Lett.

• A. P. Hippins, J. R. Sambles, and C. R. Lawrence, �??Gratingless enhanced microwave transmission through a subwavelength aperture in a thick metal plate,�?? Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 4661-4663 (2002). [CrossRef]

IEEE Microwave Guided Wave Lett.

• M. Okoniewski, M. Mrozowski, and M. A. Stuchly, �??Simple Treatment of Multi-Term Dispersion in FDTD,�?? IEEE Microwave Guided Wave Lett. 7, 121-123 (1997). [CrossRef]

Opt. Express

• A. Degiron and T. W. Ebbesen, "Analysis of the transmission process through single apertures surrounded by periodic corrugations," Opt. Express 12, 3694-3700 (2004), <a href= �??http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-12-16-3694�??>http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-12-16-3694</a>. [CrossRef]
• F. J. Garcia de Abajo, "Light transmission through a single cylindrical hole in a metallic film," Opt. Express 10, 1475-1484 (2002), <a href= �??http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-10-25-1475�??>http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-10-25-1475</a>.
• A. R. Zakharian, M. Mansuripur, and J. V. Moloney, "Transmission of light through small elliptical apertures," Opt. Express 12, 2631-2648 (2004), <a href= �??http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-12-12-2631�??>http://www.opticsexpress.org/abstract.cfm?URI=OPEX-12-12-2631</a>. [CrossRef]

Optics comm.

• R. Wannemacher, �??Plasmon supported transmission of light through nanometric hole in metallic thin films,�?? Optics comm. 195, 107-118 (2001).

Optics Lett.

• T. Thio, K. M. Pellerin, and R. A. Linke, �??Enhanced light transmission through a single subwavelength aperture,�?? Optics Lett. 26, 1972-1974 (2001).

Phys. Rev.

• H. A. Bethe, �??Theory of Diffraction by Small Holes,�?? Phys. Rev. 66, 163-182 (1944). [CrossRef]

Phys. Rev. B

• P. B. Johnson and R. W. Christy, �??Optical Constants of the Noble Metals,�?? Phys. Rev. B 6, 4370-4379 (1972). [CrossRef]

Phys. Rev. Lett.

• Y. Takakura, �??Optical Resonance in a Narrow Slit in a Thick Metallic Screen,�?? Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5601�??603 (2001). [CrossRef]

Other

• K. Okamoto, Fundamentals of Optical Waveguides (Academic Press, San Diego, 2000).
• E. D. Palik, Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids (Academic Press, New York, 1985).
• A. Taflove and S. C. Hagness, Computational Electrodynamics: The Finite Difference Time Domain Method (Second Edition, Artech House, Boston, 2000).
• C. Hafner, The Generalized Multipole Technique for Computational Electromagnetics (Artech House, Boston, (1990).
• J. Jin, The Finite Element Method in Electromagnetics (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2002).

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