Electromagnetic response of closely spaced metal meshes

Abstract

The electromagnetic transmittance of a double layer of identical square arrays of square holes (mesh) in a perfectly conducting sheet is analytically modeled using a modal matching technique. The structure supports families of standing-wave modes together with surface modes that, close to the onset of diffraction, interact with each other. For frequencies below the onset of diffraction, it is the strength of this interaction mediated by evanescent diffraction in the near fields that dictates the electromagnetic response, which is studied as a function of mesh separation and the lateral misalignment between the meshes.