@phdthesis{Pudell2020, author = {Pudell, Jan-Etienne}, title = {Lattice dynamics}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-48445}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-484453}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {XII, 259}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In this thesis I summarize my contribution to the research field of ultrafast structural dynamics in condensend matter. It consists of 17 publications that cover the complex interplay between electron, magnon, and phonon subsystems in solid materials and the resulting lattice dynamics after ultrafast photoexcitation. The investigation of such dynamics is necessary for the physical understanding of the processes in materials that might become important in the future as functional materials for technological applications, for example in data storage applications, information processing, sensors, or energy harvesting. In this work I present ultrafast x-ray diffraction (UXRD) experiments based on the optical pump - x-ray probe technique revealing the time-resolved lattice strain. To study these dynamics the samples (mainly thin film heterostructures) are excited by femtosecond near-infrared or visible light pulses. The induced strain dynamics caused by stresses of the excited subsystems are measured in a pump-probe scheme with x-ray diffraction (XRD) as a probe. The UXRD setups used during my thesis are a laser-driven table-top x-ray source and large-scale synchrotron facilities with dedicated time-resolved diffraction setups. The UXRD experiments provide quantitative access to heat reservoirs in nanometric layers and monitor the transient responses of these layers with coupled electron, magnon, and phonon subsystems. In contrast to optical probes, UXRD allows accessing the material-specific information, which is unavailable for optical light due to the detection of multiple indistinguishable layers in the range of the penetration depth. In addition, UXRD facilitates a layer-specific probe for layers buried opaque heterostructures to study the energy flow. I extended this UXRD technique to obtain the driving stress profile by measuring the strain dynamics in the unexcited buried layer after excitation of the adjacent absorbing layers with femtosecond laser pulses. This enables the study of negative thermal expansion (NTE) in magnetic materials, which occurs due to the loss of the magnetic order. Part of this work is the investigation of stress profiles which are the source of coherent acoustic phonon wave packets (hypersound waves). The spatiotemporal shape of these stress profiles depends on the energy distribution profile and the ability of the involved subsystems to produce stress. The evaluation of the UXRD data of rare-earth metals yields a stress profile that closely matches the optical penetration profile: In the paramagnetic (PM) phase the photoexcitation results in a quasi-instantaneous expansive stress of the metallic layer whereas in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) phase a quasi-instantaneous contractive stress and a second contractive stress contribution rising on a 10 ps time scale adds to the PM contribution. These two time scales are characteristic for the magnetic contribution and are in agreement with related studies of the magnetization dynamics of rare-earth materials. Several publications in this thesis demonstrate the scientific progress in the field of active strain control to drive a second excitation or engineer an ultrafast switch. These applications of ultrafast dynamics are necessary to enable control of functional material properties via strain on ultrafast time scales. For this thesis I implemented upgrades of the existing laser-driven table-top UXRD setup in order to achieve an enhancement of x-ray flux to resolve single digit nanometer thick layers. Furthermore, I developed and built a new in-situ time-resolved magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) and optical reflectivity setup at the laser-driven table-top UXRD setup to measure the dynamics of lattice, electrons and magnons under the same excitation conditions.}, language = {en} } @article{MatternPudellDumesniletal.2023, author = {Mattern, Maximilian and Pudell, Jan-Etienne and Dumesnil, Karine and von Reppert, Alexander and Bargheer, Matias}, title = {Towards shaping picosecond strain pulses via magnetostrictive transducers}, series = {Photoacoustics}, volume = {30}, journal = {Photoacoustics}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {2213-5979}, doi = {10.1016/j.pacs.2023.100463}, pages = {7}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Using time-resolved x-ray diffraction, we demonstrate the manipulation of the picosecond strain response of a metallic heterostructure consisting of a dysprosium (Dy) transducer and a niobium (Nb) detection layer by an external magnetic field. We utilize the first-order ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase transition of the Dy layer, which provides an additional large contractive stress upon laser excitation compared to its zerofield response. This enhances the laser-induced contraction of the transducer and changes the shape of the picosecond strain pulses driven in Dy and detected within the buried Nb layer. Based on our experiment with rare-earth metals we discuss required properties for functional transducers, which may allow for novel field-control of the emitted picosecond strain pulses.}, language = {en} } @misc{MatternPudellDumesniletal.2023, author = {Mattern, Maximilian and Pudell, Jan-Etienne and Dumesnil, Karine and von Reppert, Alexander and Bargheer, Matias}, title = {Towards shaping picosecond strain pulses via magnetostrictive transducers}, series = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {1321}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-58886}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-588868}, pages = {7}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Using time-resolved x-ray diffraction, we demonstrate the manipulation of the picosecond strain response of a metallic heterostructure consisting of a dysprosium (Dy) transducer and a niobium (Nb) detection layer by an external magnetic field. We utilize the first-order ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic phase transition of the Dy layer, which provides an additional large contractive stress upon laser excitation compared to its zerofield response. This enhances the laser-induced contraction of the transducer and changes the shape of the picosecond strain pulses driven in Dy and detected within the buried Nb layer. Based on our experiment with rare-earth metals we discuss required properties for functional transducers, which may allow for novel field-control of the emitted picosecond strain pulses.}, language = {en} }