Regenerated amplification of terahertz spoof surface plasmon radiation

Abstract

Regenerated amplification induced by a Fabry–Perot (F–P) cavity is introduced to enhance the interaction efficiency of the free-electron-driven spoof surface plasmon. A direct-current electron beam flies above the meta-grating surface and seeds noise-level plasmonic waves. This weak signal experiences multiple back-and-forth regenerated amplifications in the F–P cavity loaded grating system, and the system outputs a pulsed radiation when the signal leaves the cavity. When compared with the condition without the F–P cavity, the equivalent beam-wave interaction length is effectively extended, and the interaction efficiency is improved by orders of magnitude. The proof-of-principle scheme is verified in both backward-wave and forward-wave modes using the particle-in-cell simulation. This scheme is promising for developing high-efficient on-chip terahertz free-electron radiation sources.