S. Varro et F. Ehlotzky, HIGH-ORDER MULTIPHOTON IONIZATION AT METAL-SURFACES BY LASER FIELDS OF MODERATE POWER, Physical review. A, 57(1), 1998, pp. 663-666
By considering a laser-induced dipole layer along the surface of a met
al and its action on an electron of the metal, it is Shown that at mod
erate laser field intensities of some 10(10) W cm(-2) energetic electr
ons of a few 100 eV can be produced, which explains recent observation
s of Farkas et al. [Phys. Rev. A 41, 4123 (1990); Opt. Eng. 32, 2476 (
1993)] without necessarily resorting to the mechanism of Coulomb explo
sion, taking place after the completion of the ionization process. [S1
050-2947(98)00601-5].