The light-well: A tuneable free-electron light source on a chip

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel, tunable nanoscale light source called a 'light-well' created by passing free-electron beams through a nano-hole in layered metal/dielectric structures, suitable for chip-scale nanophotonics.

Contribution

It presents the design and potential applications of a new free-electron-based light source called a 'light-well' with nanoscale dimensions and tunability.

Findings

Light-well emits ~200 W/cm^2

Size is a few hundred nanometers

Potential for chip-scale nanophotonics

Abstract

The passage of a free-electron beam through a nano-hole in a periodically layered metal/dielectric structure creates a new type of tuneable, nanoscale radiation source - a 'light-well'. With a lateral size of just a few hundred nanometers, and an emission intensity of ~200 W/cm^2 such light-wells may be employed in nanophotonic circuits as chip-scale sources, or in densely packed ensembles for optical memory and display applications.