Depressed anode with plasmon-enabled devices such as ultra-small resonant structures
View Patent ↗Plasmon-enable devices such as ultra-small resonant devices produce electromagnetic radiation at frequencies in excess of microwave frequencies when induced to resonate by a passing electron beam. The resonant devices are surrounded by one or more depressed anodes to recover energy from the passing electron beam as/after the beam couples its energy into the ultra-small resonant devices.
1. A system, comprising:
a cathode emitting a linear beam of charged particles;
a destination anode at a termination point of the linear beam to couple all energy from the linear beam that arrives at the destination anode;
a depressed anode, upstream of the destination anode, to couple some of the energy from the linear beam; and
an ultra-small resonant structure located within the depressed anode and proximate the linear beam, without touching the electron beam, to couple energy from the linear beam, resonate as a result of the coupled energy form the linear beam, and emit electromagnetic radiation as a result of the resonance at a resonance wavelength less than a microwave wavelength, the ultra-small resonant structure having at least one dimension smaller than the resonance wavelength.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the depressed anode further includes an opening for the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the ultra-small resonant structure to escape.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the opening is covered by a screen.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the depressed anode surrounds the ultra-small resonant structure.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the resonant wavelength is in a visible light spectrum and the depressed anode further includes an opening for the visible light resonant wavelength to escape.
6. A method, comprising the steps of:
(a) creating an electron beam;
(b) after creating the electron beam, directing the electron beam by a depressed anode;
(c) after creating the electron beam, passing the electron beam near an ultra-small resonant structure, without touching the ultra-small resonant structure, to couple energy from the linear beam, causing the ultra-small resonant structure to resonate and emit electromagnetic radiation as a result of the resonance at a resonance wavelength less than a microwave wavelength, the ultra-small resonant structure having at least one dimension smaller than the resonance wavelength;
(d) terminating the electron beam at a destination anode.
7. A method according to claim 6 , further including the steps of providing the ultra-small resonant structure inside of the depressed anode, providing an opening in the depressed anode, and arranging the ultra-small resonant structure within the depressed anode so the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the ultra-small resonant will depart the depressed anode through the opening.