Carrier-envelope phase effects on the strong-field photoemission of electrons from metallic nanostructures

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the carrier-envelope phase of few-cycle laser pulses influences the emission and dynamics of electrons from metallic nanostructures, advancing control over ultrafast electron wavepackets for nanoplasmonic applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the effect of carrier-envelope phase on strong-field electron emission from metallic nanotapers, enabling improved control of electron motion at nanoscales.

Findings

Carrier-envelope phase significantly affects electron emission patterns.

Control of electron trajectories is achievable through laser phase manipulation.

Advances understanding of ultrafast electron dynamics in nanostructures.

Abstract

Sharp metallic nanotapers irradiated with few-cycle laser pulses are emerging as a source of highly confined coherent electron wavepackets with attosecond duration and strong directivity. The possibility to steer, control or switch such electron wavepackets by light is expected to pave the way towards direct visualization of nanoplasmonic field dynamics and real-time probing of electron motion in solid state nanostructures. Such pulses can be generated by strong-field induced tunneling and acceleration of electrons in the near-field of sharp gold tapers within one half-cycle of the driving laser field. Here, we show the effect of the carrier-envelope phase of the laser field on the generation and motion of strong-field emitted electrons from such tips. This is a step forward towards controlling the coherent electron motion in and around metallic nanostructures on ultrashort length and time scales.