Andrea Cavalleri

Abstract:

Femtosecond time-resolved X-ray diffraction was used to directly study optical phonons in laser-excited Bismuth. A periodic modulation of the diffraction efficiency reveals initially coherent lattice distortions with atomic displacements of nearly 10% of the nearest-neighbor-distance.

Abstract:

Femtosecond time-resolved X-ray diffraction was used to directly study optical phonons in laser-excited Bismuth. A periodic modulation of the diffraction efficiency reveals initially coherent lattice distortions with atomic displacements of nearly 10% of the nearest-neighbor-distance. © 2002 Optical Society of America.

Abstract:

Femtosecond x-rays were for the first time used to probe a photoinduced solid-solid phase transition in VO2. The fast timescale observed suggests that, in this regime, the structural distortion may not be thermally initiated.