Towards simultaneous measurements of electronic and structural properties in ultra-fast x-ray free electron laser absorption spectroscopy experiments

Sci Rep. 2014 Apr 17:4:4724. doi: 10.1038/srep04724.

Abstract

The rapidly growing ultrafast science with X-ray lasers unveils atomic scale processes with unprecedented time resolution bringing the so called "molecular movie" within reach. X-ray absorption spectroscopy is one of the most powerful x-ray techniques providing both local atomic order and electronic structure when coupled with ad-hoc theory. Collecting absorption spectra within few x-ray pulses is possible only in a dispersive setup. We demonstrate ultrafast time-resolved measurements of the LIII-edge x-ray absorption near-edge spectra of irreversibly laser excited Molybdenum using an average of only few x-ray pulses with a signal to noise ratio limited only by the saturation level of the detector. The simplicity of the experimental set-up makes this technique versatile and applicable for a wide range of pump-probe experiments, particularly in the case of non-reversible processes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Absorption
  • Electrons
  • Lasers*
  • Light
  • Molybdenum / chemistry
  • X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy*

Substances

  • Molybdenum