Research at the FEMTO Endstation:
Ultrafast processes in condensed matter
Although ultrafast probes of matter are now well-developed for the visible and near-visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum, only recently have appropriate short-pulse sources for the x-ray regime become available. The ability to perform even rudimentary measurements of x-ray diffraction and spectroscopy on a femtosecond time scale has the potential to yield a wealth of new information on the very short time-scale dynamics of condensed systems.
Structural Dynamics in Solids
The in-house research of the FEMTO group focuses primarily on studying the structural dynamics of strongly correlated systems under nonequilibrium conditions. Topics studied include coherent phonons, electron-phonon coupling, and photoinduced phase transitions.
Femtochemistry
In collaboration with the Chergui group at EPFL, we study the structural and electronic dynamics of chemical systems in solution using x-ray absorption spectroscopy as a probe. Projects include metal-ligand interactions and on solvation dynamics of halogenides.