Observation and Interpretation of Field Emission Saturation Induced by an Ultra-fast Intense Terahertz Field

Field emission under ultra-fast intense terahertz fields provides a promising approach for generating electron bunches with ultrashort pulse duration and high charge densities. It is generally believed that the field emission current described by traditional field emission theory increases dramatically with the applied electric field. However, we conducted extensive field emission experiments using quasi-single-cycle strong-field terahertz radiation at various energy levels and different temperatures and observed an intriguing phenomenon where the emitted charge reached saturation. A novel model is proposed to interpret this phenomenon, which considers the contribution of surface valence electrons and the dynamic replenishment of free electrons from the bulk to the surface. The experimentally observed convex relationship between the emitted charge and terahertz energy is consistent with the model prediction, unlike the concave relationship derived from the traditional field emission formula. In addition, another observed counter-intuitive phenomenon, the inverse correlation between the cathode temperature and saturated emission charge, is also well interpreted by the model. This work offers comprehensive insights into field emission dynamics under ultra-fast intense fields, paving the way for generating electron bunches with unprecedented temporal resolution.