Скачать или смотреть Picosecond Plasmons on a Wire Waveguide

Terahertz waves can be used to identify certain types of cancer cells in living tissue (see for example: http://www.teraview.com/applications/.... At present, this technique is limited to cells at the surface, i.e. for skin cancer or during surgery when the tissue is exposed. If sufficiently intense terahertz pulses can be generated on a waveguide, in this case a single metal wire, it could be used in an endoscopic tool, which would greatly extend the applicability of this diagnostic technique.

At the Eindhoven University of Technology, scientists and technicians from the Coherence and Quantum Technology group designed and built a 3 MeV electron accelerator to create electron bunches that are only a few picoseconds long. These bunches were focused on the sharp tip of a wire where some of the electrons are absorbed and thereby release pulses of coherent transition radiation. These pulses, also only a few picoseconds long, stick to the surface of the wire and propagate in the form of surface plasmons. The electric field strength of the plasmons was measured before and after a 90 degree bend to show that the pulses are guided by the wire.

Credits:
Animation: ICMS Animation Studio
Audio: Studio Make