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Now showing 1 - 10 of 36
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    Transient spin injection efficiencies at ferromagnet/metal interfaces
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2022-10-19) Elliott, Peter; Eschenlohr, Andrea; Chen, Jinghao; Shallcross, Sam; Bovensiepen, Uwe; Dewhurst, John Kay; Sharma, Sangeeta
    Spin injection across interfaces driven by ultrashort optical pulses on femtosecond timescales constitutes a new way to design spintronics applications. Targeted utilization of this phenomenon requires knowledge of the efficiency of non-equilibrium spin injection. From a quantitative comparison of ab initio time-dependent density functional theory and interface-sensitive, time-resolved non-linear optical experiment, the spin injection efficiency (SIE) at the Co/Cu(001) interface is determined, and its microscopic origin, i.e., the influence of spin-orbit coupling and the interface electronic structure, is discussed. Moreover, we theoretically predict that the SIE at ferromagnetic–metal interfaces can be optimized through laser pulse and materials parameters, namely the fluence, pulse duration, and substrate material.
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    Generation of millijoule few-cycle pulses at 5 μm by indirect spectral shaping of the idler in an optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier
    (Washington, DC : Soc., 2018) Bock, Martin; Grafenstein, Lorenz von; Griebner, Uwe; Elsaesser, Thomas
    Spectral pulse shaping in a high-intensity midwave-infrared (MWIR) optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (OPCPA) operating at 1 kHz repetition rate is reported. We successfully apply a MWIR spatial light modulator (SLM) for the generation of ultrashort idler pulses at 5 μm wavelength. Only bulk optics and active phase control of the 3.5 μm signal pulses via the SLM are employed for generating compressed idler pulses with a duration of 80 fs. The 80-fs pulse duration corresponds to less than five optical cycles at the central wavelength of 5.0 μm. The pulse energy amounts to 1.0 mJ, which translates into a peak power of 10 GW. The generated pulse parameters represent record values for high-intensity MWIR OPCPAs.
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    Element-specific magnetization dynamics of complex magnetic systems probed by ultrafast magneto-optical spectroscopy
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Korff Schmising, Clemens von; Willems, Felix; Sharma, Sangeeta; Yao, Kelvin; Borchert, Martin; Hennecke, Martin; Schick, Daniel; Radu, Ilie; Strüber, Christian; Engel, Dieter W.; Shokeen, Vishal; Buck, Jens; Bagschik, Kai; Viefhaus, Jens; Hartmann, Gregor; Manschwetus, Bastian; Grunewald, Soeren; Düsterer, Stefan; Jal, Emmanuelle; Vodungbo, Boris; Lüning, Jan; Eisebitt, Stefan
    The vision to manipulate and control magnetism with light is driven on the one hand by fundamental questions of direct and indirect photon-spin interactions, and on the other hand by the necessity to cope with ever growing data volumes, requiring radically new approaches on how to write, read and process information. Here, we present two complementary experimental geometries to access the element-specific magnetization dynamics of complex magnetic systems via ultrafast magneto-optical spectroscopy in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range. First, we employ linearly polarized radiation of a free electron laser facility to demonstrate decoupled dynamics of the two sublattices of an FeGd alloy, a prerequisite for all-optical magnetization switching. Second, we use circularly polarized radiation generated in a laboratory-based high harmonic generation setup to show optical inter-site spin transfer in a CoPt alloy, a mechanism which only very recently has been predicted to mediate ultrafast metamagnetic phase transitions. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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    Ultrashort vortex pulses with controlled spectral gouy rotation
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Liebmann, Max; Treffer, Alexander; Bock, Martin; Wallrabe, Ulrike; Grunwald, Ruediger
    Recently, the spatio-spectral propagation dynamic of ultrashort-pulsed vortex beams was demonstrated by 2D mapping of spectral moments. The rotation of characteristic anomalies, so-called "spectral eyes", was explained by wavelength-dependent Gouy phase shift. Controlling of this spectral rotation is essential for specific applications, e.g., communication and processing. Here, we report on advanced concepts for spectral rotational control and related first-proof-of-principle experiments. The speed of rotation of spectral eyes during propagation is shown to be essentially determined by angular and spectral parameters. The performance of fixed diffractive optical elements (DOE) and programmable liquid-crystal-on silicon spatial light modulators (LCoS-SLMs) that act as spiral phase gratings (SPG) or spiral phase plates (SPP) is compared. The approach is extended to radially chirped SPGs inducing axially variable angular velocity. The generation of time-dependent orbital angular momentum (self-torque) by superimposing multiple vortex pulses is proposed. © 2020 by the authors.
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    Application of Matched-Filter Concepts to Unbiased Selection of Data in Pump-Probe Experiments with Free Electron Lasers
    (Basel : MDPI, 2017-06-16) Callegari, Carlo; Takanashi, Tsukasa; Fukuzawa, Hironobu; Motomura, Koji; Iablonskyi, Denys; Kumagai, Yoshiaki; Mondal, Subhendu; Tachibana, Tetsuya; Nagaya, Kiyonobu; Nishiyama, Toshiyuki; Matsunami, Kenji; Johnsson, Per; Piseri, Paolo; Sansone, Giuseppe; Dubrouil, Antoine; Reduzzi, Maurizio; Carpeggiani, Paolo; Vozzi, Caterina; Devetta, Michele; Faccialà, Davide; Calegari, Francesca; Castrovilli, Mattea; Coreno, Marcello; Alagia, Michele; Schütte, Bernd; Berrah, Nora; Plekan, Oksana; Finetti, Paola; Ferrari, Eugenio; Prince, Kevin; Ueda, Kiyoshi
    Pump-probe experiments are commonly used at Free Electron Lasers (FEL) to elucidate the femtosecond dynamics of atoms, molecules, clusters, liquids and solids. Maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio of the measurements is often a primary need of the experiment, and the aggregation of repeated, rapid, scans of the pump-probe delay is preferable to a single long-lasting scan. The limited availability of beamtime makes it impractical to repeat measurements indiscriminately, and the large, rapid flow of single-shot data that need to be processed and aggregated into a dataset, makes it difficult to assess the quality of a measurement in real time. In post-analysis it is then necessary to devise unbiased criteria to select or reject datasets, and to assign the weight with which they enter the analysis. One such case was the measurement of the lifetime of Intermolecular Coulombic Decay in the weakly-bound neon dimer. We report on the method we used to accomplish this goal for the pump-probe delay scans that constitute the core of the measurement; namely we report on the use of simple auto- and cross-correlation techniques based on the general concept of “matched filter”. We are able to unambiguously assess the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of each scan, which then becomes the weight with which a scan enters the average of multiple scans. We also observe a clear gap in the values of SNR, and we discard all the scans below a SNR of 0.45. We are able to generate an average delay scan profile, suitable for further analysis: in our previous work we used it for comparison with theory. Here we argue that the method is sufficiently simple and devoid of human action to be applicable not only in post-analysis, but also for the real-time assessment of the quality of a dataset.
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    Monitoring of evolving laser induced periodic surface structures
    (Basel : MDPI, 2019) Lübcke, Andrea; Pápa, Zsuzsanna; Schnürer, Matthias
    Laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) are generated on titanium and silicon nitride surfaces by multiple femtosecond laser pulses. An optical imaging system is used to observe the backscattered light during the patterning process. A characteristic fringe pattern in the backscattered light is observed and evidences the surface modification. Experiments are complemented by finite difference time domain numerical simulations which clearly show that the periodic surface modulation leads to characteristic modulations in the coherently scattered light field. It is proposed that these characteristic fringe pattern can be used as a very fast and low-cost monitor of LIPSS formation formation during the manufacturing process. © 2019 by the authors.
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    Micro Fresnel mirror array with individual mirror control
    (Bristol : IOP Publ., 2020) Poyyathuruthy Bruno, Binal; Schütze, Robert; Grunwald, Ruediger; Wallrabe, Ulrike
    We present the design and fabrication of a miniaturized array of piezoelectrically actuated high speed Fresnel mirrors with individual mirror control. These Fresnel mirrors can be used to generate propagation invariant and self-healing interference patterns. The mirrors are actuated using piezobimorph actuators, and the consequent change of the tilting angle of the mirrors changes the fringe spacing of the interference pattern generated. The array consists of four Fresnel mirrors each having an area of 2 × 2 mm2 arranged in a 2x2 configuration. The device, optimized using FEM simulations, is able to achieve maximum mirror deflections of 15 mrad, and has a resonance frequency of 28 kHz.
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    GigaGauss solenoidal magnetic field inside bubbles excited in under-dense plasma
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2016) Lécz, Z.; Konoplev, I.V.; Seryi, A.; Andreev, A.
    This paper proposes a novel and effective method for generating GigaGauss level, solenoidal quasi-static magnetic fields in under-dense plasma using screw-shaped high intensity laser pulses. This method produces large solenoidal fields that move with the driving laser pulse and are collinear with the accelerated electrons. This is in contrast with already known techniques which rely on interactions with over-dense or solid targets and generates radial or toroidal magnetic field localized at the stationary target. The solenoidal field is quasi-stationary in the reference frame of the laser pulse and can be used for guiding electron beams. It can also provide synchrotron radiation beam emittance cooling for laser-plasma accelerated electron and positron beams, opening up novel opportunities for designs of the light sources, free electron lasers, and high energy colliders based on laser plasma acceleration.
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    Strong-field ionization of clusters using two-cycle pulses at 1.8 μm
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2016) Schütte, Bernd; Ye, Peng; Patchkovskii, Serguei; Austin, Dane R.; Brahms, Christian; Strüber, Christian; Witting, Tobias; Ivanov, Misha Yu; Tisch, John W. G.; Marangos, Jon P.
    The interaction of intense laser pulses with nanoscale particles leads to the production of high-energy electrons, ions, neutral atoms, neutrons and photons. Up to now, investigations have focused on near-infrared to X-ray laser pulses consisting of many optical cycles. Here we study strong-field ionization of rare-gas clusters (103 to 105 atoms) using two-cycle 1.8 μm laser pulses to access a new interaction regime in the limit where the electron dynamics are dominated by the laser field and the cluster atoms do not have time to move significantly. The emission of fast electrons with kinetic energies exceeding 3 keV is observed using laser pulses with a wavelength of 1.8 μm and an intensity of 1 × 1015 W/cm2, whereas only electrons below 500 eV are observed at 800 nm using a similar intensity and pulse duration. Fast electrons are preferentially emitted along the laser polarization direction, showing that they are driven out from the cluster by the laser field. In addition to direct electron emission, an electron rescattering plateau is observed. Scaling to even longer wavelengths is expected to result in a highly directional current of energetic electrons on a few-femtosecond timescale.
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    Correlated electronic decay in expanding clusters triggered by intense XUV pulses from a Free-Electron-Laser
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2017) Oelze, Tim; Schütte, Bernd; Müller, Maria; Müller, Jan P.; Wieland, Marek; Frühling, Ulrike; Drescher, Markus; Al-Shemmary, Alaa; Golz, Torsten; Stojanovic, Nikola; Krikunova, Maria
    Irradiation of nanoscale clusters and large molecules with intense laser pulses transforms them into highly-excited non- equilibrium states. The dynamics of intense laser-cluster interaction is encoded in electron kinetic energy spectra, which contain signatures of direct photoelectron emission as well as emission of thermalized nanoplasma electrons. In this work we report on a so far not observed spectrally narrow bound state signature in the electron kinetic energy spectra from mixed Xe core - Ar shell clusters ionized by intense extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) pulses from a free-electron-laser. This signature is attributed to the correlated electronic decay (CED) process, in which an excited atom relaxes and the excess energy is used to ionize the same or another excited atom or a nanoplasma electron. By applying the terahertz field streaking principle we demonstrate that CED-electrons are emitted at least a few picoseconds after the ionizing XUV pulse has ended. Following the recent finding of CED in clusters ionized by intense near-infrared laser pulses, our observation of CED in the XUV range suggests that this process is of general relevance for the relaxation dynamics in laser produced nanoplasmas.