THz instability by streaming carriers in high mobility solid-state plasmas

Abstract

It is described how the interaction of streaming electron plasma waves with lattice waves may lead to a highly unstable coupled plasmon-phonon excitation in the THz range, in high mobility semiconductor materials. The underlying physical mechanism is related to the ubiquitous beam-plasma instability in electrostatically coupled fluids. Continuous amplification in transit, rather than localized amplification at the system boundary reflections, yields high growth rates and may lead to efficient THz generation.