Study of surface plasmons with a scanning acoustic microscope

A new technique for investigating the surface plasmons by means of a scanning acoustic microscope is proposed. Within this technique, the surface electromagnetic wave (plasmon polariton) is excited by laser radiation on one side of a metal film, while a scanning acoustic microscope excites surface acoustic waves on the other side of the film. Obtained for the first time, the acoustic images of plasmons, propagating on the grating surface, demonstrate the possibility of studying the plasmon wave field distribution by means of a scanning acoustic microscope.