Excitation of surface plasmons by electrons in a parabolic beam

A theory is presented for the excitation of surface plasmons by an electron beam following a non-touching path above a metal surface in Born approximation. The metal is assumed to possess only surface plasmon excitations. Configurations involving deflection of the electron beam in a parallel plate condensor, and by scattering from a field emission tip are envisaged. The relation between experimental conditions and the validity of the semiclassical approximation is discussed. The region of space above the surface in which scattering occurs is calculated, but the feasability of the experiment depends on electron optical factors which are outlined.     

The fast show with x‐rays and electrons

On October 20–26, 2004, more than 350 people participated in the 31st Annual Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) Users' Meeting, workshops, and social events. The presentation by SSRL Director Keith Hodgson in the opening session focused on the success in 2004 in getting SPEAR3 and the SSRL beam lines operating and productive. Looking towards the future, he discussed the exciting new opportunities at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), an X-ray free electron laser. Hodgson emphasized the importance of safety when conducting experiments at SSRL, a point strongly reiterated by SLAC Director Jonathan Dorfan.     

Excitation of surface plasmons by electrons in a parabolic beam: Semi-classical theory

A semi-classical theory of surface plasmon excitation by electrons following a non touching parabolic orbit above a metal surface is given. The expression for the scattering probability is found to be identical to that obtained in a quantum mechanical calculation¹ in the appropriate limit.     

Life-time of surface plasmons in small metal particles

Existing theories concerning the life-time of surface plasmons in small metal particles fail to explain recent experimental data for silver. Therefore, two of these theories were critically re-examined, and some numerical errors were found. The semi-classical approach by Lozovik et al. yields, after correction, physically reasonable results, which are nearly identical with theoretical results by Kreibig. The corrected RPA-result by Lushnikov et al. is in quantitative agreement with recent experimental data for silver.     

Red shift of surface plasmons in small metal particles

It is shown that the experimentally found red shift of the surface plasmon resonance in a small metal particle is a direct measure of the first moment of the induced surface charge.     

Spectra of low-energy electrons excited by soft x rays

A study is made of the x-ray photoemission spectra of low-energy electrons (E _kin=0–30 eV) and its dependence on the way in which the potentials are applied to the entrance system of the analyzer. It is shown that under certain experimental conditions the spectrum consists solely of electrons emitted from the sample. The x-ray photoemission spectrum of pure silver is found to have a fine structure, which disappears when a surface layer of carbon or oxygen is deposited on the surface. The spectrum then takes on the “cascade” form. A possible interpretation of the fine structure is suggested in the framework of band theory. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 73–77 (March 1997)     

Surface plasmons in small metal particles

The dielectric response of a small metal particle to a perturbing potentialv _L =r ^L Y _LM e ^iωt is considered within the random phase approximation (RPA). The static dielectric polarizability is found and the size dependence of the surface plasmon frequencies are then determined from sum rule calculations. When the particle radiusa is large compared to the Thomas-Fermi screening lengthr ₀ the RPA equation is transformed into a form appropriate for an analytical solution. The dynamic electric polarizability, the position and the width of the surface plasma resonance are found in the limita/r ₀?1.     

Thomson-backscattered x rays from laser-accelerated electrons

We present the first observation of Thomson-backscattered light from laser-accelerated electrons. In a compact, all-optical setup, the "photon collider," a high-intensity laser pulse is focused into a pulsed He gas jet and accelerates electrons to relativistic energies. A counterpropagating laser probe pulse is scattered from these high-energy electrons, and the backscattered x-ray photons are spectrally analyzed. This experiment demonstrates a novel source of directed ultrashort x-ray pulses and additionally allows for time-resolved spectroscopy of the laser acceleration of electrons.     

Size characteristics of surface plasmons and their manifestation in scattering properties of metal particles

The change of the scattering properties of sodium, gold and silver spherical particles with size is discussed in the context of surface multipolar plasmon resonances. The presented surface plasmon size characteristics are abstracted from the quantity which is observed and deliver multipolar plasmon resonance frequencies and plasmon damping rates in the form of a continuous function of particle radius. The performed analysis of the plasmon dispersion relation is analogous to the problem of surface plasmon localized at a semi-infinite, flat metal/dielectric interface.Correlation between the multipolar plasmon resonance parameters, and the spectroscopic optical properties of conductive nanoparticles appearing as peaks in the measurable light intensities is analyzed. We discuss the fact, that such peaks arise from interference of all the electromagnetic fields contributing to the measured intensity, and not solely to the fields due to surface plasmon multipolar modes.We describe the results of light scattering experiment in orthogonal polarization geometries with use of spontaneously growing sodium droplets. The polarization geometry of the experiment allows for distinct separation of resonant contribution of dipole and quadrupole plasmon TM mode contributions to the measured intensities as a function of size.Predictions concerning size characteristics for dipole and quadrupole plasmons are compared with the results of light scattering experiments using spherical sodium droplets (our results) and gold and silver particles in suspension [other authors: Sönnichsen C, Franzl T, Wilk T, von Plessen G, Feldmann J. Plasmon resonances in large noble-metal clusters. New J Phys 2002; 4:93.1–8; Haiss W, Thanh NTK, Aveyard J, Fernig DG. Determination of size and concentration of gold nanoparticles from UV–vis spectra. Anal Chem 2007; 79:4215–21; Njoki PN, Lim I-IS, Mott D, Park H-Y, Khan B, Mishra S, et al. Size correlation of optical and spectroscopic properties for gold nanoparticles. J Phys Chem C 2007; 111:14664–9; Mock JJ, Barbic M, Smith DR, Schultz DA, Schultz S. Shape effects in plasmon resonance of individual colloidal silver nanoparticles. J Chem Phys 2002; 116:6755–9].     

Surface plasmons in small layer metal particles

Positions of two surface plasma resonances in a layer metal particle containing a dielectric foreign nucleus are calculated within the random phase approximation. The results obtained give a possible explanation of a recent experimental observation by Genzel et al.¹ of two peak structure in the photoabsorption cross-section of small silver particles.     

Excitation of collective nuclear states by fast particles

The elastic and inelastic scattering of a fast particle by a vibrating nucleus is discussed in the semicalssical approximation. For elastic scattering it is shown that the effect of the vibrations can be described by an effective deformed optical potential which is axially symmetric about the incident direction. Explicit results are obtained for inelastic scattering. In an appendix, the validity of the semiclassical approximation for potential scattering is discussed and numerical tests made.     

Resonant surface plasmons of a metal nanosphere treated as propagating surface plasmons

On the assumption that the resonant surface plasmons on a spherical nanoparticle are formed by standing waves of two counter-propagating surface plasmon waves along the surface, by using Mie theory simulation, we find that the dispersions of surface plasmon resonant modes supported by silver nanospheres match with those of the surface plasmons on a semiinfinite medium-silver interface very well. This suggests that the resonant surface plasmons of a metal nanosphere can be treated as a propagating surface plasmon wave.     

Excitation and emission of metal electrons in atom-surface collisions

Electron-hole pair excitation and ionization probabilities are calculated for atomic collisions with metal surfaces at high incident energies. The method adopted is based on a Sudden Collision Approximation, and a realistic model is employed for the bound and continuum electronic states involved. The parameters used in the calculations are for Ar, He, H atoms impinging on a Li surface at 300 eV. The main results are: (1) Only single electron-hole pair excitations are important; multiple pair contributions are small. (2) The transitions are dominated by the behavior of the electronic wavefunctions in the tunneling region and may serve as a probe of this regime. (3) The excitation efficiency is in the order H ? Ar ? He, the effectiveness of hydrogen being due to its stronger, longer-range coupling. (4) The maximum excitation probabilities are for electrons ejected with relatively low excess energies. (5) Total transition probabilities are about 0.5 per collision for H, and about 0.1 for Ar, indicating that these are important, easily detectable processes. Experiments in this field should provide important information on electronic wavefunctions at the metal-gas interface, and on gas-metal interactions at high energies.     

Modified method of surface plasmons in metal superlattices

We present a modified method to solve the surface plasmons(SPs) of semi-infinite metal/dielectric superlattices and predicted new SP modes in physics. We find that four dispersion-equation sets and all possible SP modes are determined by them. Our analysis and numerical calculations indicate that besides the SP mode obtained in the original theory, the other two SP modes are predicted, which have either a positive group velocity or a negative group velocity. We also point out the possible defect in the previous theoretical method in accordance to the linear algebra principle.     

Inelastic light scattering by electrons and plasmons in metals

The cross section of the inelastic light scattering by electron-hole plasma in metals is studied. The Coulomb interaction of electron excitations is taken into account self-consistently. The system of the Boltzmann equation for electronic fluctuations and Maxwell’s equations for the interaction field is solved. The Raman spectra consist of the electron-hole background, diffuson and plasmon resonances. The widths of this background and resonance are determined by the electron collision rate as well as by the decay of the incident and scattered radiation in the metal. The line shape depends on the screening of the electron-light interaction, i.e., on the incident radiation frequency. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 679–689 (August 1997) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Reproduced here with stylistic changes by the Translation Editor.     

Excitation of surface plasmons at the boundary of overdense plasma

The excitation of surface plasmons （SPs） with a strip grating at the boundary of an unmagnetized overdense plasma has been investigated theoretically and experimentally. An incident electromagnetic radiation was p-polarized at the frequency of 5 GHz. Experiments showed that when the plasma density was four times higher than the critical density with the grating present, and the SPs could be excited at the boundary of the overdense plasma. Contribution of the glass layer in the formation of the SP dispersion relation was examined. When the incident electromagnetic radiation was coupled into SPs the coupling order with the effective permittivity was simulated qualitatively. We find that the existence of SPs at the boundary of overdense plasma indicates that the reflection coefficient of the incident electromagnetic radiation reaches its minimum and even becomes total absorption. In this work the plasma density was diagnosed by a Langmuir double probe.