Comparative analysis of Dyakonov hybrid surface waves at dielectric-elliptic and dielectric-hyperbolic media interfaces

We comparatively investigate Dyakonov surface waves (DSWs) traveling along the plane interface between a dielectric isotropic medium and a lossless anisotropic uniaxial medium with the optic axis (OA) parallel to the interface, when the principal permittivities of the uniaxial medium are both positive (elliptic medium) and of opposite signs (hyperbolic medium). New insights concerning the DSWs are given by analyzing the behavior of the Poynting vector (PV) components. Thus, singularity points at which the PV of the DSW vanishes can exist at the dielectric-elliptic media interface. The range of angles with respect to the OA, which is determined both for the wave vector and the respective PV, can be larger for the DSWs at the dielectric-hyperbolic media interface. Extremely high values of the wave vector and the PV components of the DSWs can be attained at the dielectric-hyperbolic media interface. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America