Optical method and system for modifying material characteristics using surface plasmon polariton propagation

A system for modifying a material's characteristics, comprising:

• a first material selected from the group consisting of a magnetic material, a ferroelectric material, and an optical material, said first material having at least one characteristic that changes in the presence of electromagnetic energy;
• a second material in contact with said first material, said second material being electrically conductive and sustaining Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) excitation and propagation when electromagnetic radiation is coupled thereto;
• a film defined by one of said second material and a composite of said first material and said second material;
• a diffraction grating at a surface of said film;
• and
• a source for directing a beam of said electromagnetic radiation towards said diffraction grating at an acute angle with respect to said surface of said film, wherein said electromagnetic radiation incident on said diffraction grating is coupled to said second material and wherein said SPP propagation generates an electromagnetic wave incident on at least a portion of said first material.

A method of modifying a material's characteristics, comprising the steps of:

• positioning a first material in contact with a second material, the first material having at least one characteristic that changes in the presence of electromagnetic energy and the second material being electrically conductive and sustaining Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) excitation and propagation when electromagnetic radiation is coupled thereto;
• disposing a diffraction grating at a planar region of one of the second material and a composite of the first material and the second material;
• and
• directing a beam of the electromagnetic radiation towards the diffraction grating at an acute angle with respect to the planar region, wherein the electromagnetic radiation incident on the diffraction grating is coupled to the second material and wherein said SPP propagation generates an electromagnetic wave incident on at least a portion of the first material.