Light waves guided by a single curved metallic surface

Propagation of TE-waves along a single curved metallic surface with radius of curvature much larger than wavelength is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Approximate analytic expressions for the field configuration yield that power concentrates in a small region near the metal. The attenuation constant per unit angle of bend (radian) is given by the real part of the inverse of the refractive index, independent of the radius of curvature and of the mode number. In agreement with theory experiments with 10-microm radiation showed that low loss guiding can be realized.