Observation of Goos-Hänchen shifts in metallic reflection

Abstract

We report the first observation of the Goos-H$\ddot{\text{a}}$nchen shift of a light beam incident on a metal surface. This phenomenon is particularly interesting because the Goos-H$\ddot{\text{a}}$nchen shift for $p$ polarized light in metals is negative and much bigger than the positive shift for $s$ polarized light. The experimental result for the measured shifts as a function of the angle of incidence is in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. In an energy-flux interpretation, our measurement shows the existence of a backward energy flow at the bare metal surface when this is excited by a $p$ polarized beam of light.

The parer was published on Optics Express. The new version is modified according to the reviewers suggestions

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