Laser-induced ultrafast electron emission from a field emission tip

Authors

Brett E. Barwick, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
C. Corder, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
James Strohaber, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Nathan A. Chandler-Smith, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Cornelis J. Uiterwaal, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Herman Batelaan, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

James Strohaber

Herman Batelaan

Date of this Version

5-1-2007

Comments

Published in New Journal of Physics 9 (2007) 142. http://www.njp.org/ Copyright © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.

Abstract

We show that a field emission tip electron source that is triggered with a femtosecond laser pulse can generate electron pulses shorter than the laser pulse duration (100&#; fs). The emission process is sensitive to a power law of the laser intensity, which supports an emission mechanism based on multiphoton absorption followed by over-the-barrier emission. Observed continuous transitions between power laws of different orders are indicative of field emission processes. We show that the source can also be operated so that thermionic emission processes become significant. Understanding these different emission processes is relevant for the production of sub-cycle electron pulses.