Laser-induced field emission from a tungsten nanotip by circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses

We have investigated emission patterns and energy spectra of electrons from a tungsten nanotip induced by circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses. Variations of emission patterns were observed for different helicities of circular polarization while the energy spectra remained almost identical. The physics behind this difference in emission patterns is the change in propagation directions of surface electromagnetic waves on the tip apex. The energy spectra showed the same spectroscopic signatures as the linearly polarized laser in a strong-field regime, which are a low-energy peak and a plateau feature. The low-energy peak is due to a delayed electron emission with respect to a prompt emission. The experimental data and plasmonic simulations support our previous conclusion, where the observed delayed emission processes originate from an inelastic rescattering process. This work demonstrates that the use of circular polarization is an easy means to add extra knobs to control the spatial and temporal emission from a nanotip at the nanometer and femtosecond scale. It could find applications as a helicity-driven subcycle optical switch.