Electron emission from insulator surfaces by ultra-short laser pulses

Photoelectron emission from insulator surfaces induced by ultra-short laser pulses is studied within a time-dependent distorted wave method. The proposed approach combines the Volkov phase, which takes into account the laser interaction, with a simple representation of the unperturbed surface states, given by the Tight-binding method. The model is applied to evaluate the photoelectron emission from a LiF(001) surface, finding effects of interference produced by the crystal lattice.