Smolik, Grégoire M.Descharmes, NicolasHerzig, Hans Peter2018-04-262018-04-262018-04-262018-02-0710.1021/acsphotonics.7b01315https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/146195We present the first observation of Bloch surface waves in the mid-infrared spectral range. Bloch surface waves are electromagnetic states that can propagate at the interface between a continuous dielectric medium and a periodic stack of materials. We designed a mid-infrared multilayer optical element specifically for this purpose. The structure is made of successive layers of ZnSe and YbF3 deposited on a CaF2 substrate. Surface waves can be coupled into this structure from 6.6 to 10.6 μm. We characterized the optical properties of the fabricated element using a tunable quantum cascade laser centered around 7.85 μm. We believe that Bloch surface wave based platforms are very promising components for surface sensing and spectroscopic applications in the mid-infrared.Bloch surface wavesmid-infraredsurface spectroscopysurface wavetext::journal::journal article::research article