Observation of wakefield generation in left-handed band of metamaterial-loaded waveguide

We report on a design of a TM-mode based metamaterial-loaded waveguide. Network analyzer measurements demonstrated a left-handed propagation region for the TM11 mode at around 10 GHz. A beamline experiment was performed with the metamaterial-loaded waveguide. In this experiment, a 6 MeV electron beam passes through the waveguide and generates a wakefield via the Cherenkov radiation mechanism. We detected a signal in the left-handed frequency band at 10 GHz. This is an indirect demonstration of reverse Cherenkov radiation as predicted in the work of Veselago [Sov. Phys. Usp. 10, 509 (1968)] and discussed in the works of Lu [Opt. Express 11, 723 (2003)], Averkov and Yakovenko [Phys. Rev. B 72, 205110 (2005)], and Tyukhtin [IEEE, Proceedings of the PAC, 2007 (unpublished), pp. 4156-4158]. Cherenkov radiation in artificially constructed materials [metamaterials (MTMs)] can provide unusual engineered features that can be advantageous for particle detector design. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.