Theory of unconventional Smith-Purcell radiation in finite-size photonic crystals

TL;DR

This paper introduces the concept of unconventional Smith-Purcell radiation (uSPR) generated by electrons near finite photonic crystals at ultra-relativistic speeds, revealing a new mechanism distinct from traditional SPR.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of uSPR, showing how it faithfully probes photonic band structures in finite photonic crystals, differing from conventional SPR mechanisms.

Findings

uSPR occurs at ultra-relativistic electron velocities

uSPR spectrum depends on photonic band parity

uSPR effectively probes photonic band structures

Abstract

Unusual emission of light, called the unconventional Smith-Purcell radiation (uSPR) in this paper, was demonstrated from an electron traveling near a finite photonic crystal (PhC) at an ultra-relativistic velocity. This phenomenon is not related to the accepted mechanism of the conventional SPR and arises because the evanescent light from the electron has such a small decay constant in the ultra-relativistic regime that it works practically as a plane-wave probe entering the PhC from one end. We analyze the dependence of the SPR spectrum on the velocity of electron and on the parity of excited photonic bands and show, for PhCs made up of a finite number of cylinders, that uSPR probes the photonic band structure very faithfully.