Ultrashort laser oscillator pulses meet nano-structures: from attosecond physics at metal tips to dielectric laser accelerators

21st International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy

Thomas, Sebastian^1 ; Krüger, Michael^1 ; Breuer, John^1 ; Förster, Michael^1 ; Hommelhoff, Peter^1

Department of Physics, Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Staudtstr. 1, D-91058 Erlangen Germany, and Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1, D-85748 Garching / Munich, Germany^1

关键词: Attosecond physics;    Carrier-envelope phase;    Grating structures;    Laser accelerators;    Nanoscale structure;    Near-field sensors;    Optical near field;    Relativistic electron;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/467/1/012004/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1742-6596/467/1/012004

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

We report on two experiments about the interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with nano-scale structures. In the first experiment, we have observed strong-field effects at nanometer sharp metal tips, such as rescattering, the high-energy cut-off and a strong carrier-envelope phase dependence. All these effects are hallmarks of attosecond physics. We have used the new understanding of these processes at a solid tip to build a near-field sensor with record sensitivity of 1 nm. In the second experiment, we have demonstrated the acceleration of non-relativistic electrons with the optical near-field at a photonic grating structure, with an acceleration gradient of 25MeV/m. The grating serves to generate a near-field mode co-propagating with and efficiently imparting momentum onto the electron, which is impossible in vacuum over a macroscopic distance. For relativistic electrons we expect an acceleration gradient of more than 1 GeV/m with two-sided grating structures.