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Imaging and Controlling Ultrafast Electron Pulses Emitted from Plasmonic Nanostructures
Pengzuo Jiang1, Wei Zheng1, Xiaofang Li1
1State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Nano Letters
|August 3, 2023
Summary
Researchers used advanced microscopy to study electron emission from gold nanodisks. They found that combining infrared and extreme ultraviolet lasers allows ultrafast manipulation of electron pulse energy, driven by Coulomb interactions.
Area of Science:
- Nanophotonics and Ultrafast Electron Dynamics
- Plasmonics and Photoemission Spectroscopy
Background:
- Local surface plasmon resonance in gold nanodisk arrays generates plasmonic hotspots.
- Photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) enables space-, time-, and energy-resolved studies of electron emission.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate photoemission from gold nanodisk arrays under different laser excitations.
- To explore the manipulation of nanoscale electron pulses using combined infrared (IR) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser pulses.
- To understand the ultrafast dynamics and energy control of photoemitted electrons.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing space-, time-, and energy-resolved photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM).
- Exciting gold nanodisk arrays with resonant IR laser pulses to induce local surface plasmon resonance and generate hotspots.
- Exciting the system with EUV laser pulses to create a photoelectron cloud.
- Investigating the combined effect of IR and EUV laser pulses with varying time delays.
Main Results:
- IR laser excitation generates nanoscale, ultrashort electron pulses from plasmonic hotspots.
- EUV laser excitation produces a uniformly distributed photoelectron cloud.
- Combined IR and EUV excitation leads to significant, time-delay-dependent variations in photoemission images and electron kinetic energy.
- Observed phenomena are explained by Coulomb interactions between IR-generated electrons and the EUV-generated electron cloud.
Conclusions:
- Coulomb interactions between electron clouds play a crucial role in ultrafast electron dynamics.
- A feasible method is presented for manipulating the energy of electron pulses emitted from plasmonic nanostructures on an ultrafast timescale.
- This research opens avenues for controlling electron pulse properties for advanced applications.
