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Coherence in laser-driven electrons at the surface and in the volume of solid matter

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Abstract

The femtosecond frequency comb allows controlling the carrier field of ultrashort laser pulses. We show two examples on how this control over fields oscillating with a few hundred terahertz can be utilized to control electrons at the surface and in the volume of solids. After a brief discussion of strong-field physics at metal needle tips, we show how ultrafast two-color laser pulses allow quantum path interference to dramatically alter the emission current from sharp tips, with an interference visibility of 94%. With carrier-envelope phase-controlled laser pulses, we show furthermore how light-field sensitive currents can be excited in monolayer graphene via an interplay of interband and intraband electron dynamics including multiple Landau–Zener transitions.

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Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the many contributions of and is grateful to all past and current members of his group, in particular the long-time members Drs. Johannes Hoffrogge, Markus Schenk, Michael Krüger, John Breuer, Jakob Hammer, Sebastian Thomas, Michael Förster, Takuya Higuchi, Joshua McNeur and Martin Kozák. Funding from ERC (NearFieldAtto), SFB 953, SPP 1840 QUTIF and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Department Physik, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Staudtstr. 1, 91058, Erlangen, EU, Germany

    Peter Hommelhoff

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Correspondence to Peter Hommelhoff.

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This article is part of the topical collection “Enlightening the World with the Laser” - Honoring T. W. Hänsch guest edited by Tilman Esslinger, Nathalie Picqué, and Thomas Udem.

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Hommelhoff, P. Coherence in laser-driven electrons at the surface and in the volume of solid matter. Appl. Phys. B 123, 11 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-016-6586-6

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