On-chip Cherenkov radiation tuning in 3.2-14 THz

Abstract Cherenkov radiation has attracted much attention for promoting the free electron radiation sources. Using hyperbolic metamaterial, Cherenkov radiation can be excited using low-energy electrons and thus on-chip free electron radiation source has been realized. However, direct experimental observations of on-chip free-electron-based Cherenkov radiation have been limited to the visible region, and the tunability has not been thoroughly explored. In this work, by constructing a hyperbolic metamaterial with graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, on-chip, free-electron-based terahertz Cherenkov radiation is observed and the frequency tunable range spans 3.2 to 14 THz in a hundred-micron-scale dimension. Compared with other free-electron terahertz sources, the chip size is over three orders of magnitude smaller, and the tunable range is one of the widest. This work extends the on-chip free-electron-based Cherenkov radiation into terahertz domain, highlighting its tunability and paves the way for further advancements in free electron radiation source.