Electron rescattering at metal nanotips induced by ultrashort laser pulses

Abstract

We report on the first investigation of plateau and cut-off structures in photoelectron spectra from nano-scale metal tips interacting with few-cycle near-infrared laser pulses. These hallmarks of electron rescattering, well-known from atom-laser interaction in the strong-field regime, appear at remarkably low laser intensities with nominal Keldysh parameters of the order of $\gtrsim 10$. Quantum and quasi-classical simulations reveal that a large field enhancement near the tip and the increased backscattering probability at a solid-state target play a key role. Plateau electrons are by an order of magnitude more abundant than in comparable atomic spectra, reflecting the high density of target atoms at the surface. The position of the cut-off serves as an in-situ probe for the locally enhanced electric field at the tip apex.

References in corpus (5)

• Attosecond control of electrons emitted from a nanoscale metal tip
• Strong-field above-threshold photoemission from sharp metal tips
• Time-dependent density functional theory for strong electromagnetic fields in crystalline solids
• Time Double-Slit Interference in Tunneling Ionization
• Experimental evidence of above-threshold photoemission in solids

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• Laser-induced electron emission from a tungsten nanotip: identifying above threshold photoemission using energy-resolved laser power dependencies
• Electron cascades and secondary electron emission in graphene under energetic ion irradiation
• High-order harmonic generation driven by metal nanotip photoemission: theory and simulations
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• Correlations between the final momenta of electrons and their initial phase-space distribution in the process of tunnel ionization
• Onset of space-charge effects in strong-field photocurrents from nanometric needle tips
• Ultrafast optically induced tunneling in narrow metallic gaps from the time dependent density functional perspective