Plasmonic corrugated cylinder–cone terahertz probe

The spoof surface plasmon polariton (SPP) effect on the electromagnetic field distribution near the tip of a periodically corrugated metal cylinder–cone probe working at the terahertz regime was studied. We found that radially polarized terahertz radiation could be coupled effectively through a spoof SPP into a surface wave and propagated along the corrugated surface, resulting in more than 20× electric field enhancement near the tip of probe. Multiple resonances caused by the antenna effect were discussed in detail by finite element computation and theoretical analysis of dispersion relation for spoof SPP modes. Moreover, the key figures of merit such as the resonance frequency of the SPP can be flexibly tuned by modifying the geometry of the probe structure, making it attractive for application in an apertureless background-free terahertz near-field microscope.