Field propagation-induced directionality of carrier-envelope phase-controlled photoemission from nanospheres

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 7944
• Main Authors: Süßmann, F., Seiffert, L., Zherebtsov, S., Mondes, V., Stierle, J., Arbeiter, M., Plenge, J., Rupp, P., Peltz, C., Kessel, A., Trushin, S. A., Ahn, B., Kim, D., Graf, C., Rühl, E., Kling, M. F., Fennel, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12.08.2015; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Pub. Group
• Subjects: 639/624/399/354; 639/624/400; 639/766/36/2796; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8944

Near-fields of non-resonantly laser-excited nanostructures enable strong localization of ultrashort light fields and have opened novel routes to fundamentally modify and control electronic strong-field processes. Harnessing spatiotemporally tunable near-fields for the steering of sub-cycle electron dynamics may enable ultrafast optoelectronic devices and unprecedented control in the generation of attosecond electron and photon pulses. Here we utilize unsupported sub-wavelength dielectric nanospheres to generate near-fields with adjustable structure and study the resulting strong-field dynamics via photoelectron imaging. We demonstrate field propagation-induced tunability of the emission direction of fast recollision electrons up to a regime, where nonlinear charge interaction effects become dominant in the acceleration process. Our analysis supports that the timing of the recollision process remains controllable with attosecond resolution by the carrier-envelope phase, indicating the possibility to expand near-field-mediated control far into the realm of high-field phenomena. The localized enhancement of laser light in optical near-fields of nanostructures enables the steering of ultrafast electronic motion. Here, the authors employ field propagation in nanospheres to obtain directional tunability and attosecond control of near-field-induced strong-field photoemission.