Henry Kapteyn and Margaret Murnane

Attosecond Light and Science at the Time-scale of the Electron –

Coherent X-rays from Ultrafast Lasers

Outline

• Take attosecond electron rescattering physics, discovered just over 20 years ago, to generate tabletop coherent x-ray beams

• Use ultrafast x-rays to visualize, interact with, and control the nanoworld, to simultaneously manipulate electrons, atoms and molecules in quantum systems

• Table-top microscopes and nanoprobes with unprecedented elemental, spatial and temporal resolution

Bright, coherent, ultrafast, soft x-ray beams on a tabletop

• Focus a femtosecond laser beam into a gas

• Extreme nonlinear optics upshifts visible laser light into the x-ray region

• When laser and x-ray phase velocities matched, get coherent bright output

Electron paths

Laser-like, ultrafast, soft x-ray beams from

3 – 30 nm

Surface science: probe charge transfer processes on surfaces (PRL 101, 046101 (2008))

Molecular imaging: image changing electronic orbital and molecular structure (Science 317, 1374 (2007); Science 322, 1081 (2008); Science 322, 1207 (2008))

Applications of coherent, ultrafast, x-ray beams span a broad range of science and technology

Nanothermal transport: probe heat flow in nanostructures (Nature Materials, accepted (2009))

Magnetics: Probe nanodomains, magnetic dynamics (Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 257402 (2009))

Nanoimaging: High resolution 3D imaging of thick samples using coherent lensless imaging (OL 34, 1618 (2009); PNAS 105, 24 (2008); Nature 460, 1088 (2009); Nature tbp (Jan 14, 2010))

High frequency acoustic metrology: Characterize thin films, interfaces, adhesion (Applied Physics Letters 94, 093103 (2009))

Surface science: probe charge transfer processes on surfaces (PRL 101, 046101 (2008))

Molecular imaging: image changing electronic orbital and molecular structure (Science 317, 1374 (2007); Science 322, 1081 (2008); Science 322, 1207 (2008))

Applications of coherent, ultrafast, x-ray beams span a broad range of science and technology

Nanothermal transport: probe heat flow in nanostructures (Nature Materials, accepted (2009))

Magnetics: Probe nanodomains, magnetic dynamics (Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 257402 (2009))

Nanoimaging: High resolution 3D imaging of thick samples using coherent lensless imaging (OL 34, 1618 (2009); PNAS 105, 24 (2008); Nature 460, 1088 (2009); Nature tbp (Jan 14, 2010))

High frequency acoustic metrology: Characterize thin films, interfaces, adhesion (Applied Physics Letters 94, 093103 (2009))

How to catalysts work?Can nanoparticles enhance photovoltaic efficiency?

How are electrons and atoms dynamically coupled in a molecule? How fast can an electron change states?

How fast does heat flow from a nanostructure into the bulk?

How to probe and characterize interfaces, adhesion, and very thin films?

Image thick samples at the nanometer level using a tabletop lensless microscope

How fast can a magnetic material switch? How do nanodomains interact?