  We detect thermally excited surfaces waves on a submicron SiO 2 layer,
including Zenneck and guided modes in addition to Surface Phonon Polaritons.
The measurements show the existence of these hybrid thermal-electromagnetic
waves from near-(2.7 $\mu$m) to far-(11.2 $\mu$m) infrared. Their propagation
distances reach values on the order of the millimeter, several orders of
magnitude larger than on semi-infinite systems. These two features, spectral
broadness and long range propagation, make these waves good candidates for
near-field applications both in optics and thermics due to their dual nature.
