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Abstract We have studied reflection spectra of dye-doped and undoped polymers deposited onto Ag and Au substrates and found anomalous dips in the UV spectral range. On top of Ag substrates, the λ ∼ 375 nm dips were observed in undoped PMMA, PVP, and PS polymers as well as PMMA doped with Rh590 and HITC laser dyes. In silver-based samples, the spectral positions of the observed reflection dips were close to singularities in the refractive indexes of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) propagating at the interface between Ag and polymer. The latter singularities can tentatively explain the λ ∼ 375 nm reflection dips, if the scattering of Ag and polymeric films is large enough to launch SPP without any prism or grating. The dips observed in reflection of Rh590:PMMA and HITC:PMMA on top of Au, were more pronounced than those on Ag, broader, shifted to shorter wavelengths, and their spectral positions had large standard deviations. Furthermore, no anomalous dips in gold-based samples were observed in the reflection spectra of undoped PMMA, PVP, and PS polymers, and a modest singularity in the SPP refractive index, predicted theoretically at λ ∼ 500 nm, cannot explain the dips in the UV reflection spectra observed experimentally. It appears likely that the origin of the reflection dips on top of Au substrates is different from that on top of Ag substrates. 

Abstract We have studied the dependence of concentration quenching of luminescence (donor–acceptor energy transfer) on the thickness d of dye-doped polymeric films (HITC:PMMA) and found its strong inhibition at small values of d . This phenomenon is tentatively explained by a limited number of acceptors, which donors’ excitation can reach in thin samples, if the film’s thickness is comparable to the diffusion length of the energy transfer. The latter mechanism, along with effective reduction of the dye concentration, is responsible for an inhibition of the concentration quenching of dye molecules impregnating porous alumina membranes. The elongation of emission kinetics in thick (≥3 μm) HITC:PMMA films is cautiously attributed to the samples’ crystallinity.