Optical transmission in perforated noble and transition metal films

Optical transmission through arrays of subwavelength apertures is studied systematically in different metals over the optical spectral range in comparable conditions. The results provide an absolute comparison and thereby highlight the influence of the dielectric constants, surface excitations, interband transitions and different loss mechanisms. Only noble metals such as Ag, Au and Cu give rise to significant transmission in the optical regime. Hole arrays in W transmit very poorly, as expected, since W cannot sustain surface plasmons in the optical range.