Enhanced Transmission of Light and Matter through Nanoapertures without Assistance of Surface Waves

Subwavelength aperture arrays in thin metal films enable enhanced transmission of light and matter waves [for example, see T.W. Ebbesen et al., Nature (London) 391, 667 (1998) and E. Moreno et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 170406 (2005)]. The phenomenon relies on resonant excitation of the surface electron or matter waves. We show another mechanism that provides a great transmission enhancement not by coupling to the surface waves but by the interference of diffracted evanescent waves in the far-field zone. Verification of the mechanism is presented by comparison with recently published data.