Interference effects on guided Cherenkov emission in silicon from perpendicular, oblique, and parallel boundaries

Waveguide electromagnetic modes excited by swift electrons traversing Si slabs at normal and oblique incidence are analyzed using monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy and interpreted using a local dielectric theory that includes relativistic effects. At normal incidence, sharp spectral features in the visible/near-infrared optical domain are directly assigned to p-polarized modes. When the specimen is tilted, s-polarized modes, which are completely absent at normal incidence, become visible in the loss spectra. In the tilted configuration, the dispersion of p-polarized modes is also modified. For tilt angles higher than ∼50 deg. Cherenkov radiation, the phenomenon responsible for the excitation of waveguide modes, is expected to partially escape the silicon slab and the influence of this effect on experimental measurements is discussed. Finally, we find evidence for an interference effect at parallel Si/SiO2 interfaces, as well as a delocalized excitation of guided Cherenkov modes.