Energy-Resolved Cross-Correlation of THz Field Emission of Electrons from a Metal Nanotip
Abstract
Intense THz pulses, combined with the lightning-rod field enhancement at metal nanotips, can drive field emission of keV-energy, femtosecond-duration electron bunches, yet the dynamics governing this emission remain largely unexplored. Here we probe these dynamics by cross-correlating the energy-resolved emission driven by two independently generated single-cycle THz pulses focused onto a tungsten nanotip, scanning their relative delay over 160 ps. At total bunch charges approaching 106 e-, the delay-energy emission map near zero delay reveals electrons accelerated up to 2.1 keV, with a cross-correlation width of ~210 fs full width at half maximum at the highest energies. Apart from replicas caused by optical reflections in the setup, no emission echoes are observed over the full delay range, ruling out long-lived antenna resonances such as Sommerfeld-wave reflections along the tip shaft. A 1D Fowler-Nordheim model incorporating a low-Q, sub-picosecond antenna response for the local field enhancement reproduces the peak electron energies and the asymmetry of the delay-energy map. Our results indicate that each THz pulse produces a single, isolated electron burst, and that energy filtering can select its shortest, highest-energy component.
Related
- State-resolved quantum transport of vortex electrons in accelerators
- SKFitter: Symmetry resolved Slater Koster tight-binding models from first principles for s, p, d and f electrons, spin orbit coupling and magnetism
- Electrons with Anomalous Energy Generated in Vacuum Diodes with Different Pulse Duration
- Sub-nanosecond time resolved light emission study for diffuse discharges in air under steep high voltage pulses
- Spatially resolved extreme ultraviolet emission and opacity effects in laser-produced zinc plasmas
BibTeX
@misc{david2026energyresolved,
title = {{Energy-Resolved Cross-Correlation of THz Field Emission of Electrons from a Metal Nanotip}},
author = {Laurent N. David and Rodrigo T. Paulino and Angela Moskal and David G. Cooke},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.04036},
eprint = {2611.04036},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.04036},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Energy-Resolved Cross-Correlation of THz Field Emission of Electrons from a Metal Nanotip
AU - Laurent N. David
AU - Rodrigo T. Paulino
AU - Angela Moskal
AU - David G. Cooke
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/02
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.04036
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.04036
AB - Intense THz pulses, combined with the lightning-rod field enhancement at metal nanotips, can drive field emission of keV-energy, femtosecond-duration electron bunches, yet the dynamics governing this emission remain largely unexplored. Here we probe these dynamics by cross-correlating the energy-resolved emission driven by two independently generated single-cycle THz pulses focused onto a tungsten nanotip, scanning their relative delay over 160 ps. At total bunch charges approaching 10^6 e^-, the delay-energy emission map near zero delay reveals electrons accelerated up to 2.1 keV, with a cross-correlation width of ~210 fs full width at half maximum at the highest energies. Apart from replicas caused by optical reflections in the setup, no emission echoes are observed over the full delay range, ruling out long-lived antenna resonances such as Sommerfeld-wave reflections along the tip shaft. A 1D Fowler-Nordheim model incorporating a low-Q, sub-picosecond antenna response for the local field enhancement reproduces the peak electron energies and the asymmetry of the delay-energy map. Our results indicate that each THz pulse produces a single, isolated electron burst, and that energy filtering can select its shortest, highest-energy component.
ER -