Optical diffraction radiation from a dielectric and a metal nanowire excited by a modulated electron beam.

The optical diffraction radiation that accompanies the motion of a modulated beam of electrons near a dielectric and silver nanowire scatterers is investigated in the two-dimensional formulation. Our goal is to compute the field in the near and far zones and analyze how it depends on electron beam parameters. We demonstrate the excitation of internal resonances of such a scatterer that can be useful in the design of nanoscale non-invasive beam position monitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]