Berlin 2015 – scientific programme

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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 36: Plasmonics and Nanooptics

O 36.18: Poster

Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 18:15–21:00, Poster A

Bistable nano-plasma formation and EUV light generation in plasmonic nanostructures — •Frederik Busse, Murat Sivis, and Claus Ropers — IV. Physical Institute, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

The enhancement of light in plasmonic nanostructures offers new means to study highly nonlinear optical phenomena using ultrashort low-energy laser pulses at MHz repetition rates. Specifically, the excitation of noble gas atoms in resonant bow-tie antennas and tapered hollow waveguides facilitates nanostructure-based extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) light generation at local intensities above 10 TW/cm². Contrary to initial reports [1, 2] which indicate the feasibility of plasmon-enhanced coherent high-harmonic generation, it was recently shown that incoherent fluorescence stemming from multiphoton and strong-field excitation dominates the EUV light generation process under such conditions [3, 4].

Here, we present a study of gas plasma processes in tapered hollow waveguides which can lead to a pronounced intensity-hysteresis in the fluorescence signal. In addition to the spectral analysis of the fluorescent EUV radiation, we measure intensity- and pressure-dependent electron and ion yields which give further insights into the ionization mechanisms.

[1] S. Kim et al., Nature 453, 757(2008),

[2] I.-Y. Park et al., Nat. Photon. 5, 677 (2011).

[3] M. Sivis et al., Nature 485, E1 (2012).

[4] M. Sivis and C. Ropers, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 085001 (2013).