Direct time-domain observation of attosecond final-state lifetimes in photoemission from solids

Published

July 1, 2016

Author(s)

Zhensheng Tao, Cong Chen, Tibor Szilvasi, Mark W. Keller, Manos Mavrikakis, Henry C. Kapteyn, Margaret M. Murnane

Abstract

Attosecond spectroscopic techniques have made it possible to measure differences in transport times for photoelectrons from localized core levels and delocalized valence bands in solids. We report the application of attosecond pulse trains to directly and unambiguously measure the difference in lifetimes between photoelectrons born into free electron-like states and those excited into unoccupied excited states in the band structure of nickel (111). An enormous increase in lifetime of 212 +/- 30 attoseconds occurs when the final state coincides with a short-lived excited state. Moreover, a strong dependence of this lifetime on emission angle is directly related to the final-state band dispersion as a function of electron transverse momentum. This finding underscores the importance of the material band structure in determining photoelectron lifetimes and corresponding electron escape depths.

Citation

Science/AAAS

Volume

353

Issue

6294

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf6793

Local Download

Keywords

attosecond, spectroscopic techniques, photoelectrons, localized core levels, localized core levels, pulse trains, nickel, electron transverse momentum, material band structure, electron escape depths

Citation

Tao, Z. , Chen, C. , Szilvasi, T. , Keller, M. , Mavrikakis, M. , Kapteyn, H. and Murnane, M. (2016), Direct time-domain observation of attosecond final-state lifetimes in photoemission from solids, Science/AAAS, [online], https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf6793, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=920477 (Accessed October 17, 2025)