Single-cycle surface plasmon polaritons on a bare metal wire excited by relativistic electrons
| Autor: | P.W. Smorenburg, G.J.H. Brussaard, O.J. Luiten, W.P.E.M. op 't Root |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Coherence and Quantum Technology, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Materials science
Terahertz radiation Science Physics::Optics General Physics and Astronomy 02 engineering and technology 01 natural sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Article 010309 optics Optics Electric field 0103 physical sciences Plasmon Multidisciplinary business.industry Surface plasmon General Chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Surface plasmon polariton Bunches Transition radiation 0210 nano-technology business Localized surface plasmon |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications Nature Communications, 7:13769. Nature Publishing Group Nature Communications, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-6 (2016) |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Popis: | Terahertz (THz) pulses are applied in areas as diverse as materials science, communication and biosensing. Techniques for subwavelength concentration of THz pulses give access to a rapidly growing range of spatial scales and field intensities. Here we experimentally demonstrate a method to generate intense THz pulses on a metal wire, thereby introducing the possibility of wave-guiding and focussing of the full THz pulse energy to subwavelength spotsizes. This enables endoscopic sensing, single-shot subwavelength THz imaging and study of strongly nonlinear THz phenomena. We generate THz surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) by launching electron bunches onto the tip of a bare metal wire. Bunches with 160 pC charge and ≈6 ps duration yield SPPs with 6–10 ps duration and 0.4±0.1 MV m−1 electric field strength on a 1.5 mm diameter aluminium wire. These are the most intense SPPs reported on a wire. The SPPs are shown to propagate around a 90° bend. Here, the authors demonstrate how ultra-short bunches of relativistic electrons produce coherent transition radiation at the tip of a thin wire. The radiation then propagates as a powerful surface plasmon polariton along the wire, illustrating the potential of this technique for terahertz plasmonics. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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