Ultrafast electron transfer through a silicon–vacuum interface induced by the action of an intense femtosecond laser pulse

Abstract

A theoretical study of the influence of a quasistationary electric field formed during emission separation of charges on ultrafast electron transfer near a silicon–vacuum interface irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses was carried out. The values of the strength of the arising quasistationary field during irradiation by femtosecond pulses with fluences near and above the silicon damage thresholds were estimated. The possibility of the formation of a dynamic optically layered structure in the near-surface layers of silicon irradiated by a femtosecond pulse, resulting from a modification of its optical properties due to the depletion of electrons in the surface layer, was studied. It is suggested that the time-dependent dipole moment induced by the emission separation of charges should lead to the generation of electromagnetic radiation from the terahertz frequency range. The basic properties of this radiation were theoretically investigated.