Electrical control of surface-wave propagation at the planar interface of a linear electro-optic materials and an isotropic dielectric material

Surface waves can propagate on the planar interface of a linear electro-optic (EO) material and an isotropic dielectric material, for restricted ranges of the orientation angles of the EO material and the refractive index of the isotropic material. These ranges can be controlled by the application of a dc electric field, and depend on both the magnitude and the direction of the dc field. Thus, surface-wave propagation can be electrically controlled by exploiting the Pockels effect.