S. A. Aseev

Formation of nanolocalized tungsten photoion packets by femtosecond laser pulses

Nanolocalized ion packets have been produced due to the transmission of photoions, which are emitted from a refractory metal emitter irradiated by femtosecond laser radiation with a high repetition rate, through a quartz nanocapillary. With the use of such a pulsed nanobeam, a miniature ion microscope has been created and the image of a dielectric-nanoaperture fragment has been obtained.

Laser Photoelectron Projection Microscopy of an Organic Conducting Polymer

A conducting organic polymer is visualized on a laser photoelectron projection microscope, which is based on Letokhov’s concept and has a nanometer spatial resolution. Photoelectron images of polyaniline (which is the most promising representative of conducting polymers) with a magnification of ∼105 have been obtained when a 100-nm quartz capillary coated with a film of this material was irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses. The projection photoelectron method using 400- and 800-nm laser radiation has made it possible to directly reveal the existence of the redox heterogeneity of the organic polymer, which is due to the contact of the sections of polyaniline with different oxidation degrees and strongly affects the electric conductivity of the sample.

Formation of an Electron Beam with a Duration Shorter than 100 fs during Photoemission of Electrons by Femtosecond Laser Pulses

Irradiation of a thin metal target by 38-fs laser pulses at a wavelength of 800 nm is shown to generate a beam of photoelectrons that contains a component whose duration is shorter than 100 fs. The ensemble of photoelectrons is formed by photoemission of a gold film about 10 nm thick sputtered on the base of a prism made of fused silica. The laser beam irradiates a dielectric-metal interface and propagates inside the prism at an angle of 45° to a normal to the interface. The photoelectron beam is formed by accelerating photoelectrons in a spatially inhomogeneous electrostatic potential. The ultrashort component of the photoelectron beam is found to be formed under the action of a ponderomotive potential. It is shown that the ultrashort electron component can be separated from the remaining part of the photoelectron beam with the help of an inhomogeneous electrostatic field.

Direct observation of the generation of coherent optical phonons in thin antimony films by the femtosecond electron diffraction method

The generation of coherent optical phonons in an antimony film has been directly observed by the femtosecond electron diffraction method. The sample has been excited by a femtosecond laser pulse (λ = 800 nm) and probed with a pulsed photoelectron beam. Oscillations of the intensity corresponding to vibration frequencies of optical phonons excited by the laser have been observed in the obtained diffraction patterns: totally symmetric (A1g) and twofold degenerate (E2g) phonon modes of antimony and their combinations.

Visualization of the spatio-temporal structure of a pulsed photoelectron beam formed by femtosecond laser radiation

A method based on an original electron microscope created for investigating photoelectron beams is presented. It ensures a nanometer spatial resolution and picosecond time resolution. Electrons appearing when a metal needle is irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses are transmitted through a dielectric microcapillary and are subjected to a ponderomotive potential created by femtosecond laser radiation focused near the capillary tip. The position-sensitive detection scheme allows for the detection of the spatial profile of a photo-electron beam with a magnification of K ≅ 4 × 104. The time structure of the photoelectron beam is visualized by scanning the delay time between laser pulses irradiating the needle and a laser pulse focused near the capillary tip.

Generation of a Directed Nanolocalized Photoelectron Beam by Means of Femtosecond Laser Pulses

A directed photoelectron beam is obtained when photoelectrons from a sharp metal tip irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses are passed through a quartz nanocapillary. Such a nanolocalized photoelectron train makes it possible to conduct experiments with simultaneous femtosecond time and nanometer spatial resolutions.

Femtosecond Laser Photoemission Microscopy of Capillary Nanotips with Ultrahigh Spatial Resolution

A nanolocalized electron beam emitted from silicon nanotubes has been used to image the aperture of a quartz capillary with a channel diameter of 100 nm. An analogous nickel-coated capillary was used as a tip for imaging deposited organic nanostructures by means of femtosecond laser photoelectron projection microscopy (LPPM). Organic nanocomplexes deposited onto the tip surface change the dependence of the photoelectron response signal on the energy density of probing femtosecond laser pulses. An analysis of the LPPM images of capillary nanotips shows that the spatial resolution achieved in these experiments is on a level of 5 nm.

Observation of coherent optical phonons excited by femtosecond laser radiation in Sb films by ultrafast electron diffraction method

The generation of coherent optical phonons in a polycrystalline antimony film sample has been investigated using femtosecond electron diffraction method. Phonon vibrations have been induced in the Sb sample by the main harmonic of a femtosecond Ti:Sa laser (λ = 800 nm) and probed by a pulsed ultrashort photoelectron beam synchronized with the pump laser. The diffraction patterns recorded at different times relative to the pump laser pulse display oscillations of electron diffraction intensity corresponding to the frequencies of vibrations of optical phonons: totally symmetric (A1g) and twofold degenerate (Eg) phonon modes. The frequencies that correspond to combinations of these phonon modes in the Sb sample have also been experimentally observed.

Desorption of an organic conducting polymer by soft X-ray radiation created by a femtosecond laser

The possibility of the desorption of complicated molecular complexes by soft X rays resulting from a solid target irradiated by a single sharply focused femtosecond laser pulse with an energy of several millijoules has been experimentally demonstrated for polyaniline, which is an organic conducting polymer. X-ray desorption and photodesorption of polyaniline by femtosecond laser pulses have been compared using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The results provide the possibility of studying surfaces with spatial nanoresolution and high elemental (chemical) selectivity, as well as observing the photodesorption with a high temporal resolution.

Developing methods for observing processes induced by femtosecond laser pulses with high spatiotemporal resolution

A combination of femtosecond laser techniques and nanomicroscopy creates promising new possibilities for studying both matter and a whole number of ultrafast physical processes. The results obtained at the Institute for Spectroscopy as a result of developing a new area of femtosecond nanomicroscopy are presented.