Wavelength-Dependent Features of Photoelectron Spectra from Nanotip Photoemission

Abstract

If a metal nanotip is irradiated with the light of a wavelength much larger than the nanotip’s radius of curvature, optical near-fields become excited. These fields are responsible for distinct strong-field electron dynamics, due to both the field enhancement and spatial localization. By classical trajectory, Monte Carlo (CTMC) simulation, and the integration of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE), we find that the photoelectron spectra for nanotip strong-field photoemission, irradiated by mid-infrared laser pulses, present distinctive wavelength-dependent features, especially in the mid- to high-electron energy regions, which are different from the well known ones. By extracting the electron trajectories from the CTMC simulation, we investigate these particular wavelength-dependent features. Our theoretical results contribute to understanding the photoemission and electron dynamics at nanostructures, and pave new pathways for designing high-energy nanometer-sized ultrafast electron sources.

Keywords

• photoemission
• energy spectra
• wavelength-dependent
• nanostructures