Optical bistability with surface plasmons in layered structures on a nonlinear substrate is studied using Leung’s exact results for the nonlinear p-polarized surface waves. Explicit results for the bistable behavior of the reflected field are given for two different geometries involving excitation of short-range and long-range surface plasmons. The excitation of long-range plasmons results in a much lower bistability threshold.

• Received 10 March 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.34.5239