Comment on ``Enhanced transmission of light through a gold film due to excitation of standing surface-plasmon Bloch waves"

The purpose of this comment is first to correct a misapprehension of the role played by composite wave diffraction on surface-wave generation at subwavelength structures and second to point out that periodic Bloch structures are unnecessary for the efficient production of the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) guided mode either as traveling or standing waves. Guided surface waves originate from simple slit or groove edges illuminated under normal incidence, and one-dimensional (1-D) surface cavities from these standing waves are easily realized.