Abstract

The behavior of the conduction-band electrons in a metal film subjected to the action of an ultrashort laser pulse at normal incidence is analyzed quantum-mechanically. The pulse duration is assumed to be shorter than the electron mean free time. It is shown for the first time that electrons in the film can be excited resonantly to the higher-energy quantum well levels due to the action of the magnetic field of the wave. The numerical analysis is conducted for an electron which is initially in the lowest quantum well and has a quasi-momentum directed along the electric field. It is shown that the excitation probability due to the magnetic-field excitation mechanism can be even larger than the excitation probability due to the inverse bremsstrahlung in electron–phonon collisions.

© 2014 Optical Society of America

Excitation and relaxation dynamics in dielectrics irradiated by an intense ultrashort laser pulse

Nils Brouwer and Bärbel Rethfeld
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 31(11) C28-C35 (2014)

Transient optical properties of dielectrics and semiconductors excited by an ultrashort laser pulse

E. G. Gamaly and A. V. Rode
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 31(11) C36-C43 (2014)

Spectral dependence of the magnetic modulation of surface plasmon polaritons in permalloy/noble metal films

V. G. Kravets, P. Yu. Kurioz, and L. V. Poperenko
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 31(8) 1836-1844 (2014)

Ultrafast excitation of conduction-band electrons by high-intensity ultrashort laser pulses in band-gap solids: Vinogradov equation versus Drude model

Olga Sergaeva, Vitaly Gruzdev, Drake Austin, and Enam Chowdhury
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 35(11) 2895-2905 (2018)

Atomistic modeling of ultrashort-pulse ultraviolet laser ablation of a thin LiF film

Yaroslav Cherednikov, Nail A. Inogamov, and Herbert M. Urbassek
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28(8) 1817-1824 (2011)