Matthias Hengsberger

Spin-polarized Fermi surface mapping

Abstract The magnetic and electronic properties of itinerant ferromagnets and their interplay have been studied in the last few years by spin resolved electron spectroscopy on one hand and by high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission experiments on the other. We discuss how the two approaches can be combined in a high resolution electron spectrometer with spin resolution for angle-scanned Fermi surface mapping experiments. We have built this new instrument, which allows an advance into a deeper understanding of magnetic thin film or multilayer systems, where band structures become intricately dense in momentum space and where the magnetization direction can change from layer to layer. Spin-resolution is thus required to arrive at a correct assignment of spectral features. A fully three-dimensional polarimeter makes the instrument ‘complete’ in the sense that all properties of the photoelectron are measured. First experiments on Ni(111) conclusively confirm previous band and spin assignments at the Fermi level and demonstrate the correct functioning of the apparatus.

Energy distribution curves of ultrafast laser-induced field emission and their implications for electron dynamics

Hirofumi Yanagisawa, Matthias Hengsberger, Dominik Leuenberger, Martin Klöckner, Christian Hafner, Thomas Greber, and Jürg Osterwalder Physik Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland Laboratory for Electromagnetic Fields and Microwave Electronics, ETH Zürich, Gloriastrasse 35, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland Present address: Department of Physics, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 16, CH-8093 Zürich, Swizerland (Dated: January 15, 2013)

Optical control of field-emission sites by femtosecond laser pulses.

We have investigated field-emission patterns from a clean tungsten tip apex induced by femtosecond laser pulses. Strongly asymmetric modulations of the field-emission intensity distributions are observed depending on the polarization of the light and the laser incidence direction relative to the azimuthal orientation of tip apex. In effect, we have realized an ultrafast pulsed field-emission source with site selectivity. Simulations of local fields on the tip apex and of electron emission patterns based on photoexcited nonequilibrium electron distributions explain our observations quantitatively.

Energy-dependent photoemission delays from noble metal surfaces by attosecond interferometry

How quanta of energy and charge are transported on both atomic spatial and ultrafast timescales is at the heart of modern technology. Recent progress in ultrafast spectroscopy has allowed us to directly study the dynamical response of an electronic system to interaction with an electromagnetic field. Here, we present energy-dependent photoemission delays from the noble metal surfaces Ag(111) and Au(111). An interferometric technique based on attosecond pulse trains is applied simultaneously in a gas phase and a solid-state target to derive surface-specific photoemission delays. Experimental delays on the order of 100 as are in the same time range as those obtained from simulations. The strong variation of measured delays with excitation energy in Ag(111), which cannot be consistently explained invoking solely electron transport or initial state localization as supposed in previous work, indicates that final state effects play a key role in photoemission from solids.

Laser-induced field emission from a tungsten tip: Optical control of emission sites and the emission process

Field-emission patterns from a clean tungsten tip apex induced by femtosecond laser pulses have been investigated. Strongly asymmetric field-emission intensity distributions are observed depending on three parameters: (i) the polarization of the light, (ii) the azimuthal, and (iii) the polar orientation of the tip apex relative to the laser incidence direction. In effect, we have realized an ultrafast pulsed field-emission source with site selectivity of a few tens of nanometers. Simulations of local fields on the tip apex and of electron emission patterns based on photoexcited nonequilibrium electron distributions explain our observations quantitatively. Electron emission processes are found to depend on laser power and tip voltage. At relatively low laser power and high tip voltage, field-emission after two-photon photoexcitation is the dominant process. At relatively low laser power and low tip voltage, photoemission processes are dominant. As the laser power increases, photoemission from the tip shank becomes noticeable. © 2010 The American Physical Society

Versatile attosecond beamline in a two-foci configuration for simultaneous time-resolved measurements

We present our attoline which is a versatile attosecond beamline at the Ultrafast Laser Physics Group at ETH Zurich for attosecond spectroscopy in a variety of targets. High-harmonic generation (HHG) in noble gases with an infrared (IR) driving field is employed to generate pulses in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral regime for XUV-IR cross-correlation measurements. The IR pulse driving the HHG and the pulse involved in the measurements are used in a non-collinear set-up that gives independent access to the different beams. Single attosecond pulses are generated with the polarization gating technique and temporally characterized with attosecond streaking. This attoline contains two target chambers that can be operated simultaneously. A toroidal mirror relay-images the focus from the first chamber into the second one. In the first interaction region a dedicated double-target allows for a simple change between photoelectron/photoion measurements with a time-of-flight spectrometer and transient absorption experiments. Any end station can occupy the second interaction chamber. A surface analysis chamber containing a hemispherical electron analyzer was employed to demonstrate successful operation. Simultaneous RABBITT measurements in two argon jets were recorded for this purpose.

Design of a miniature picosecond low-energy electron gun for time-resolved scattering experiments

We present the design and performance tests of a miniaturized pulsed low-energy electron gun. Electrons photoemitted from a gold cathode are accelerated over a distance of 75 μm and then collimated by a microchannel plate. According to calculations, this novel concept will allow the time spread of the electron pulses to be kept below 5 ps for kinetic energies as low as 100 eV. The achievement of a minimum angular beam divergence (≈1°) along with an energy resolution of 1.1 eV has to be paid for by low signal intensities. We demonstrate the performance of the gun and the high electron-beam coherence by presenting low-energy-electron diffraction images taken from a submonolayer of lead adsorbed on the germanium (111) surface. We anticipate that this electron gun will open up new possibilities for following structural changes on solid surfaces in real time.

Light-Matter Interaction at Surfaces in the Spatiotemporal Limit of Macroscopic Models.

What is the spatiotemporal limit of a macroscopic model that describes the optoelectronic interaction at the interface between different media? This fundamental question has become relevant for time-dependent photoemission from solid surfaces using probes that resolve attosecond electron dynamics on an atomic length scale. We address this fundamental question by investigating how ultrafast electron screening affects the infrared field distribution for a noble metal such as Cu(111) at the solid-vacuum interface. Attosecond photoemission delay measurements performed at different angles of incidence of the light allow us to study the detailed spatiotemporal dependence of the electromagnetic field distribution. Surprisingly, comparison with Monte Carlo semiclassical calculations reveals that the macroscopic Fresnel equations still properly describe the observed phase of the IR field on the Cu(111) surface on an atomic length and an attosecond time scale.

Delayed electron emission in strong-field driven tunnelling from a metallic nanotip in the multi-electron regime

Illuminating a nano-sized metallic tip with ultrashort laser pulses leads to the emission of electrons due to multiphoton excitations. As optical fields become stronger, tunnelling emission directly from the Fermi level becomes prevalent. This can generate coherent electron waves in vacuum leading to a variety of attosecond phenomena. Working at high emission currents where multi-electron effects are significant, we were able to characterize the transition from one regime to the other. Specifically, we found that the onset of laser-driven tunnelling emission is heralded by the appearance of a peculiar delayed emission channel. In this channel, the electrons emitted via laser-driven tunnelling emission are driven back into the metal, and some of the electrons reappear in the vacuum with some delay time after undergoing inelastic scattering and cascading processes inside the metal. Our understanding of these processes gives insights on attosecond tunnelling emission from solids and should prove useful in designing new types of pulsed electron sources.Hirofumi Yanagisawa, Sascha Schnepp, Christian Hafner, Matthias Hengsberger, Alexandra Landsman, Lukas Gallmann, and Jürg Osterwalder Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland Physik-Institut, Universität Zürich, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland Laboratory for Electromagnetic Fields and Microwave Electronics, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland (Dated: June 24, 2014)

Direct observation of space charge dynamics by picosecond low-energy electron scattering

The transient electric field governing the dynamics of space charge is investigated by time- and energy-resolved low-energy electron scattering. The space charge above a copper target is produced by high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses. The pump-probe experiment has a measured temporal resolution of better than 35 ps at 55 eV probe electron energy. The probe electron acceleration due to space charge is reproduced within a 3-dimensional non-relativistic model, which determines an effective number of electrons in the space charge cloud and its initial diameter. Comparison of the simulations with the experiments indicates a Coulomb explosion, which is consistent with transients in the order of 1 ns, the terminal kinetic energy of the cloud and the thermoemission currents predicted by the Richardson-Dushman formula.