Controlled electron acceleration from dielectric nanospheres in intense few-cycle laser fields

Abstract

Application of nanosystems in the ultrafast regime requires control of nanoscopic fields on sub-cycle timescales [1]. Waveform controlled few-cycle laser pulses in the visible have proven to be a powerful tool to steer electron dynamics on a sub-femtosecond time scale in atoms [2] and molecules [3]. One of the most promising routes to the realization of electronics operating at light frequencies arises from applying such light fields to nanoscale systems. We demonstrate the emission and directional control of highly energetic electrons from isolated SiO 2 nanoparticles in few-cycle laser fields with well defined waveform at intensities close to the tunneling regime.