Investigation of ultrafast structural changes of metallic layers and metallo-organic complexes by hard x-ray photoemission and diffraction

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Helmut Zacharias
• Subject Area: Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
• Term: from 2002 to 2006
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5373391

In this project methods shall be developed and applied for the investigation of dynamical processes at surfaces and interfaces by laser-generated hard x-rays with femtosecond time resolution. A high-brilliance hard x-ray source with 1 kHz repetition rate based on the liquid gallium jet technique at hn = 9.2517 keV (l = 1.34 Å) will be implemented. The generated x-rays will be collected with a toroidally bent single crystal Bragg mirror. Time-resolved photo-electron spectroscopy will be employed to study the dynamics of the magnetic coupling in metallic layer systems after femtosecond visible laser excitation. Simultaneously diffraction experiments can be performed in the same set-up and the dynamics of the lattice in the top most and in buried layers be studied. In cooperation with an organic chemistry group first test experiments to investigate the motional dynamics in metallo-organic catalysts will be conducted using x-ray diffraction.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1134: Transient structures in condensed matter investigated by ultrafast x-ray techniques
• Major Instrumentation: Nd:YLF Laser System
• Instrumentation Group: 5700 Festkörper-Laser