Modulation of optical radiation by reflection from a film structure under the conditions of excitation of an interface polariton at a metal–semiconductor boundary

A numerical calculation is reported of the reflection coefficient of a plane electromagnetic wave incident on a multilayer asymmetric planar metal–semiconductor structure, which forms a Schottky barrier at the interface. The slope of the modulation characteristic of the reflection coefficient is calculated for the case when the thickness of a depletion layer in the contact region is controlled by an external voltage. This slope is shown to be considerably less than the value reported by other authors. An explanation is given of this discrepancy and methods for increasing the slope of the modulation characteristic are suggested.