Search Results

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Item
    In situ single-shot diffractive fluence mapping for X-ray free-electron laser pulses
    ([London] : Nature Publishing Group UK, 2018) Schneider, Michael; Günther, Christian M.; Pfau, Bastian; Capotondi, Flavio; Manfredda, Michele; Zangrando, Marco; Mahne, Nicola; Raimondi, Lorenzo; Pedersoli, Emanuele; Naumenko, Denys; Eisebitt, Stefan
    Free-electron lasers (FELs) in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and X-ray regime opened up the possibility for experiments at high power densities, in particular allowing for fluence-dependent absorption and scattering experiments to reveal non-linear light-matter interactions at ever shorter wavelengths. Findings of such non-linear effects are met with tremendous interest, but prove difficult to understand and model due to the inherent shot-to-shot fluctuations in photon intensity and the often structured, non-Gaussian spatial intensity profile of a focused FEL beam. Presently, the focused beam is characterized and optimized separately from the actual experiment. Here, we present the simultaneous measurement of XUV diffraction signals from solid samples in tandem with the corresponding single-shot spatial fluence distribution on the actual sample. Our in situ characterization scheme enables direct monitoring of the sample illumination, providing a basis to optimize and quantitatively understand FEL experiments.
  • Item
    Toward ultrafast magnetic depth profiling using time-resolved x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity
    (Melville, NY : AIP Publishing LLC, 2021) Chardonnet, Valentin; Hennes, Marcel; Jarrier, Romain; Delaunay, Renaud; Jaouen, Nicolas; Kuhlmann, Marion; Ekanayake, Nagitha; Léveillé, Cyril; von Korff Schmising, Clemens; Schick, Daniel; Yao, Kelvin; Liu, Xuan; Chiuzbăian, Gheorghe S.; Lüning, Jan; Vodungbo, Boris; Jal, Emmanuelle
    During the last two decades, a variety of models have been developed to explain the ultrafast quenching of magnetization following femtosecond optical excitation. These models can be classified into two broad categories, relying either on a local or a non-local transfer of angular momentum. The acquisition of the magnetic depth profiles with femtosecond resolution, using time-resolved x-ray resonant magnetic reflectivity, can distinguish local and non-local effects. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of this technique in a pump–probe geometry using a custom-built reflectometer at the FLASH2 free-electron laser (FEL). Although FLASH2 is limited to the production of photons with a fundamental wavelength of 4 nm (≃310 eV), we were able to probe close to the Fe L3 edge (706.8 eV) of a magnetic thin film employing the third harmonic of the FEL. Our approach allows us to extract structural and magnetic asymmetry signals revealing two dynamics on different time scales which underpin a non-homogeneous loss of magnetization and a significant dilation of 2 Å of the layer thickness followed by oscillations. Future analysis of the data will pave the way to a full quantitative description of the transient magnetic depth profile combining femtosecond with nanometer resolution, which will provide further insight into the microscopic mechanisms underlying ultrafast demagnetization.
  • Item
    Photodissociation of aligned CH3I and C6H3F2I molecules probed with time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging by site-selective extreme ultraviolet ionization
    (Melville, NY : AIP Publishing LLC, 2018) Amini, Kasra; Savelyev, Evgeny; Brauße, Felix; Berrah, Nora; Bomme, Cédric; Brouard, Mark; Burt, Michael; Christensen, Lauge; Düsterer, Stefan; Erk, Benjamin; Höppner, Hauke; Kierspel, Thomas; Krecinic, Faruk; Lauer, Alexandra; Lee, Jason W. L.; Müller, Maria; Müller, Erland; Mullins, Terence; Redlin, Harald; Schirmel, Nora; Thøgersen, Jan; Techert, Simone; Toleikis, Sven; Treusch, Rolf; Trippel, Sebastian; Ulmer, Anatoli; Vallance, Claire; Wiese, Joss; Johnsson, Per; Küpper, Jochen; Rudenko, Artem; Rouzée, Arnaud; Stapelfeldt, Henrik; Rolles, Daniel; Boll, Rebecca
    We explore time-resolved Coulomb explosion induced by intense, extreme ultraviolet (XUV) femtosecond pulses from a free-electron laser as a method to image photo-induced molecular dynamics in two molecules, iodomethane and 2,6-difluoroiodobenzene. At an excitation wavelength of 267 nm, the dominant reaction pathway in both molecules is neutral dissociation via cleavage of the carbon-iodine bond. This allows investigating the influence of the molecular environment on the absorption of an intense, femtosecond XUV pulse and the subsequent Coulomb explosion process. We find that the XUV probe pulse induces local inner-shell ionization of atomic iodine in dissociating iodomethane, in contrast to non-selective ionization of all photofragments in difluoroiodobenzene. The results reveal evidence of electron transfer from methyl and phenyl moieties to a multiply charged iodine ion. In addition, indications for ultrafast charge rearrangement on the phenyl radical are found, suggesting that time-resolved Coulomb explosion imaging is sensitive to the localization of charge in extended molecules.