Ultrafast single-shot diffraction imaging of nanoscale dynamics

DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2008.128

Authors: Anton Barty (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; University of California, Davis) , Sébastien Boutet (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory; Uppsala University) , Michael J. Bogan (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) , Stefan Hau-Riege (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) , Stefano Marchesini (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) , Klaus Sokolowski-Tinten (Universität Duisburg-Essen) , Nikola Stojanovic (Universität Duisburg-Essen) , Raanan Tobey (University of Oxford) , Henri Ehrke (University of Oxford) , Andrea Cavalleri (University of Oxford; Max Planck Research Group for Structural Dynamics; Diamond Light Source) , Stefan Düsterer (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) , Matthias Frank (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) , Sasa Bajt (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Universität Hamburg at DESY) , Bruce W. Woods (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) , M. Marvin Seibert (Uppsala University) , Janos Hajdu (Uppsala University) , Rolf Treusch (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) , Henry N. Chapman (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; University of California, Davis; Universität Hamburg at DESY)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Nature Photonics , VOL 2 (7) , PAGES 415-419

State: Published (Approved)
Published: June 2008

Abstract: The transient nanoscale dynamics of materials on femtosecond to picosecond timescales is of great interest in the study of condensed phase dynamics such as crack formation, phase separation and nucleation, and rapid fluctuations in the liquid state or in biologically relevant environments. The ability to take images in a single shot is the key to studying non-repetitive behaviour mechanisms, a capability that is of great importance in many of these problems. Using coherent diffraction imaging with femtosecond X-ray free-electron-laser pulses we capture time-series snapshots of a solid as it evolves on the ultrafast timescale. Artificial structures imprinted on a Si3N4 window are excited with an optical laser and undergo laser ablation, which is imaged with a spatial resolution of 50 nm and a temporal resolution of 10 ps. By using the shortest available free-electron-laser wavelengths1 and proven synchronization methods2 this technique could be extended to spatial resolutions of a few nanometres and temporal resolutions of a few tens of femtoseconds. This experiment opens the door to a new regime of time-resolved experiments in mesoscopic dynamics.

Subject Areas: Technique Development, Materials


Technical Areas:

Added On: 14/05/2010 11:24

Discipline Tags:

Technique Development - Materials Science Materials Science Nanoscience/Nanotechnology

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