  Transmission of light through an optically ultrathin metal film with a
thickness comparable to its skin depth is significant. We demonstrate
experimentally nearly-zero transmission of light through a film periodically
modulated by a one-dimensional array of subwavelength slits. The suppressed
optical transmission is due to the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons and
the zero-transmission phenomenon is strongly dependent on the polarization of
the incident wave.
