THz detectors using surface Josephson plasma waves in layered superconductors

✍ Scribed by Sergey Savel’ev; Valery Yampol’skii; Franco Nori

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 150 KB
• Volume: 445-448
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0921-4534
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physc.2006.03.110

✦ Synopsis

We describe a proposal for THz detectors based on the excitation of surface waves, in layered superconductors, at frequencies lower than the Josephson plasma frequency x J . These waves propagate along the vacuum-superconductor interface and are attenuated in both transverse directions out of the surface (i.e., towards the superconductor and towards the vacuum). The surface Josephson plasma waves are also important for the complete suppression of the specular reflection from a sample (Wood's anomalies, used for gratings) and produce a huge enhancement of the wave absorption, which can be used for the detection of THz waves.