Polarization-dependent vibrational shifts on dielectric substrates

The interaction of light with matter at surfaces of dielectrics strongly depends on polarization. Here, we present the first infrared spectroscopic evidence for significant polarization effects in the spectroscopic detection of adsorbate vibrational frequencies. In addition to much larger peak intensities for p-polarized light relative to s-polarization, a small but distinct blue shift was identified for CO adsorbed at the surfaces of two prototype dielectric substrates, CeO${}_2$(111) and CaCO${}_3$(10.4). A simulation using a layer model yields very good agreement with experiment.