Excitation of bulk and surface wakefields by a relativistic electron bunch in plasma of semiconductors and semimetals

TL;DR

This paper investigates how relativistic electron bunches excite bulk and surface wakefields in semiconductor and semimetal plasmas, revealing the roles of plasmons and Cherenkov radiation in these processes.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the spatio-temporal structure of wakefields and the excitation mechanisms of surface plasmons in semiconductor waveguides.

Findings

Wakefields include longitudinal plasmons and Cherenkov radiation.

Surface plasmons are excited in waveguides with vacuum channels.

The intensity of surface wave excitation is quantified.

Abstract

The spatio-temporal structure of the bulk wakefields excited by a relativistic electron bunch in plasma of semiconductors and semimetals is studied. It is shown that these wakefield consists of the field of longitudinal plasmons and Cherenkov electromagnetic radiation, which is a set of eigen electromagnetic waves of the semiconductor or semimetal waveguide. A branch of the surface plasmons appears in a waveguide with an axial vacuum channel. The process of wake excitation of the surface plasmons by the relativistic electron bunch is also investigated. The intensity of the excited wake surface wave is determined.