353 research outputs found
Concept of a laser-plasma based electron source for sub-10 fs electron diffraction
We propose a new concept of an electron source for ultrafast electron
diffraction with sub-10~fs temporal resolution. Electrons are generated in a
laser-plasma accelerator, able to deliver femtosecond electron bunches at 5 MeV
energy with kHz repetition rate. The possibility of producing this electron
source is demonstrated using Particle-In-Cell simulations. We then use particle
tracking simulations to show that this electron beam can be transported and
manipulated in a realistic beamline, in order to reach parameters suitable for
electron diffraction. The beamline consists of realistic static magnetic optics
and introduces no temporal jitter. We demonstrate numerically that electron
bunches with 5~fs duration and containing 1.5~fC per bunch can be produced,
with a transverse coherence length exceeding 2~nm, as required for electron
diffraction
Femtosecond Spectrotemporal Magneto-Optics
A new method to measure and analyze the time and spectrally resolved polarimetric response of magnetic materials is presented. It allows us to study the ultrafast magnetization dynamics of a CoPt3 ferromagnetic film. The analysis of the pump-induced rotation and ellipticity detected by a broad spectrum probe beam shows that magneto-optical signals predominantly reflect the spin dynamics in ferromagnets
Study of molecular spin-crossover complex Fe(phen)2(NCS)2 thin films
We report on the growth by evaporation under high vacuum of high-quality thin
films of Fe(phen)2(NCS)2 (phen=1,10-phenanthroline) that maintain the expected
electronic structure down to a thickness of 10 nm and that exhibit a
temperature-driven spin transition. We have investigated the current-voltage
characteristics of a device based on such films. From the space charge-limited
current regime, we deduce a mobility of 6.5x10-6 cm2/V?s that is similar to the
low-range mobility measured on the widely studied
tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminium organic semiconductor. This work paves the
way for multifunctional molecular devices based on spin-crossover complexes
Control of defect-mediated tunneling barrier heights in ultrathin MgO films
The impact of oxygen vacancies on local tunneling properties across
rf-sputtered MgO thin films was investigated by optical absorption spectroscopy
and conducting atomic force microscopy. Adding O to the Ar plasma during
MgO growth alters the oxygen defect populations, leading to improved local
tunneling characteristics such as a lower density of current hotspots and a
lower tunnel current amplitude. We discuss a defect-based potential landscape
across ultrathin MgO barriers.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Ultrafast spin dynamics and critical behavior in half-metallic ferromagnet : Sr_2FeMoO_6
Ultrafast spin dynamics in ferromagnetic half-metallic compound Sr_2FeMoO_6
is investigated by pump-probe measurements of magneto-optical Kerr effect.
Half-metallic nature of this material gives rise to anomalous thermal
insulation between spins and electrons, and allows us to pursue the spin
dynamics from a few to several hundred picoseconds after the optical
excitation. The optically detected magnetization dynamics clearly shows the
crossover from microscopic photoinduced demagnetization to macroscopic critical
behavior with universal power law divergence of relaxation time for wide
dynamical critical region.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. Abstract and Figures 1 & 3 are correcte
Nonequilibrium Magnetization Dynamics of Nickel
Ultrafast magnetization dynamics of nickel has been studied for different
degrees of electronic excitation, using pump-probe second-harmonic generation
with 150 fs/800 nm laser pulses of various fluences. Information about the
electronic and magnetic response to laser irradiation is obtained from sums and
differences of the SHG intensity for opposite magnetization directions. The
classical M(T)-curve can be reproduced for delay times larger than the electron
thermalization time of about 280 fs, even when electrons and lattice have not
reached thermal equilibrium. Further we show that the transient magnetization
reaches its minimum approx. 50 fs before electron thermalization is completed.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, revte
Efficient metallic spintronic emitters of ultrabroadband terahertz radiation
Terahertz electromagnetic radiation is extremely useful for numerous
applications such as imaging and spectroscopy. Therefore, it is highly
desirable to have an efficient table-top emitter covering the 1-to-30-THz
window whilst being driven by a low-cost, low-power femtosecond laser
oscillator. So far, all solid-state emitters solely exploit physics related to
the electron charge and deliver emission spectra with substantial gaps. Here,
we take advantage of the electron spin to realize a conceptually new terahertz
source which relies on tailored fundamental spintronic and photonic phenomena
in magnetic metal multilayers: ultrafast photo-induced spin currents, the
inverse spin-Hall effect and a broadband Fabry-P\'erot resonance. Guided by an
analytical model, such spintronic route offers unique possibilities for
systematic optimization. We find that a 5.8-nm-thick W/CoFeB/Pt trilayer
generates ultrashort pulses fully covering the 1-to-30-THz range. Our novel
source outperforms laser-oscillator-driven emitters such as ZnTe(110) crystals
in terms of bandwidth, terahertz-field amplitude, flexibility, scalability and
cost.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure
Multicolor two-photon light-sheet microscopy
International audienceTwo-photon microscopy is the most effective approach for deep-tissue fluorescence cellular imaging; however, its application to high-throughput or high-content imaging is often hampered by low pixel rates, challenging multicolor excitation and potential cumulative photodamage. To overcome these limitations, we extended our prior work and combined two-photon scanned light-sheet..
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