Infrared absorption of polycyanoacrylate enhanced by Ag island films in the Kretschmann's ATR geometry: The coverage dependence

Abstract An infrared absorption enhancement is reported for films of polycyanoacrylate deposited on evaporated silver films of approximately 50 A in thickness in the Kretschmann's ATR geometry. The comparison between absorption intensities measured with and without the Ag underlayer film demonstrates that the absorption intensity is enhanced by the presence of the Ag film by roughly a factor of 10. The enhancement saturates at a distance of between 30 and 50 A from the Ag surface.