Surface plasmon assisted electron acceleration in photoemission from gold nanopillars

Phillip M. Nagel, Joseph S. Robinson, Bruce D. Harteneck, Thomas Pfeifer, Mark J. Abel, James S. Prell, Daniel M. Neumark, Robert A. Kaindl, Stephen R. Leone

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Electron photoemission from lithographically prepared gold nanopillars using few-cycle, 800 nm laser pulses is measured. Electron kinetic energies are observed that are higher by up to tens of eV compared to photoemission from a flat gold surface at the same laser intensities. In addition, ionization from the nanopillar sample scales like a two-photon process, while three photons are needed to overcome the work function taking into account the shortest wavelength within the laser bandwidth. A classical electron acceleration model consisting of nonlinear ionization followed by field acceleration qualitatively reproduces the electron kinetic energy data and suggests average enhanced electric fields due to the nanopillars that are between 25 and 39 times greater than the experimentally used laser fields. Implications for plasmon-enhanced attosecond streaking are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)106-111
Number of pages6
JournalChemical Physics
Volume414
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 12 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Electron acceleration
  • Few-cycle pulses
  • Photoelectron emission
  • Plasmon field enhancement

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy(all)
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Surface plasmon assisted electron acceleration in photoemission from gold nanopillars'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this