Coherent ultrafast photoemission from a single quantized state of a one-dimensional emitter

Femtosecond laser–driven photoemission source provides an unprecedented femtosecond-resolved electron probe not only for atomic-scale ultrafast characterization but also for free-electron radiation sources. However, for conventional metallic electron source, intense lasers may induce a considerable broadening of emitting energy level, which results in large energy spread (>600 milli–electron volts) and thus limits the spatiotemporal resolution of electron probe. Here, we demonstrate the coherent ultrafast photoemission from a single quantized energy level of a carbon nanotube. Its one-dimensional body can provide a sharp quantized electronic excited state, while its zero-dimensional tip can provide a quantized energy level act as a narrow photoemission channel. Coherent resonant tunneling electron emission is evidenced by a negative differential resistance effect and a field-driven Stark splitting effect. The estimated energy spread is ~57 milli–electron volts, which suggests that the proposed carbon nanotube electron source may promote electron probe simultaneously with subangstrom spatial resolution and femtosecond temporal resolution.