A New Regime in Strong Field Science at the Nanoscale
Abstract
Ultrafast ionization and recollision phenomena have been a deep and interesting component of laser-matter interaction for decades. Extending these studies from atomic and molecular targets to nanosamples will provide continued exciting and novel research. Understanding how electron recollision processes scale with target size and composition is critical to the development of a series of innovative applications. Chief among these is the ability to create petahertz speed opto-electronic devices. However, recent nanomedicine such as mRNA vaccines advances might also benefit from light activated lipid nanoparticles in the bloodstream. Most strong field science is defined by the energy absorbed by the electron from the electric field in its quiver motion or the ponderomotive energy, Up. In high harmonic generation (HHG), the maximum extreme ultraviolet (XUV) photon energy is Emax ? Ip + 3.2U p, whereas in strong field ionization of molecules and atoms, the maximum electron energy is usually ?10Up. At the nanoscale we observe a very strong departure from these and any other observed electronic energy scale. Under the previous funding of this program, we have established that photoelectrons emitted from nanoparticles can reach more than 2000Up. This represents more than two orders of magnitude difference compared to standard strong field emissions. The broad objective of this proposal is to study the plasmonic and electron dynamics, under strong fields at the nanoscale to understand and exploit the mechanisms leading to highly energetic electrons. The study will have two main thrusts based on experimental techniques used, • Strong field ionization of isolated nanoparticles in vacuum through nanoions-photoelectrons in coincidence. A first study of its kind study to shed light on the mechanism of the electron energy distribution. • HHG from aerosolized nanoparticles to generate coherent XUV photons using orders of magnitude less peak intensity than ”standard” HHG from atoms and molecule.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 21, 2022
- Source ID
- FA95502110387XX0
Entities
People
- Carlos Trallero
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Connecticut