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Ultrafast soft X-ray emission spectroscopy of surface adsorbates using an X-ray free electron laser
(2013)
We report on an experimental system designed to probe chemical reactions on solid surfaces on a sub-picosecond timescale using soft X-ray emission spectroscopy at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) free electron laser (FEL) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We analyzed the O 1s X-ray emission spectra recorded from atomic oxygen adsorbed on a Ru(0001) surface at a synchrotron beamline (SSRL, BL13-2) and an FEL beamline (LCLS, SXR). We have demonstrated conditions that provide negligible amount of FEL induced damage of the sample. In addition we show that the setup is capable of tracking the temporal evolution of electronic structure during a surface reaction of submonolayer quantities of CO molecules desorbing from the surface.
The oxygen on Ag(111) system has been investigated with Auger electron-photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy (APECS).
The coincidence spectra between O 1s core level photoelectrons and O KLL Auger electrons have been studied together with Ag(3)d/AgM4,5NN coincidences.
We also describe the electron-electron coincidence spectrometer setup, CoESCA, consisting of two angle resolved time-of-flight spectrometers at a synchrotron light source.
Contributions from molecular oxygen and chemisorbed oxygen are assigned using the coincidence data, conclusions are drawn primarily from the O 1s/O KLL data.
The data acquisition and treatment procedure are also outlined.
The chemisorbed oxygen species observed are relevant for the catalytic ethylene oxidation.
We used the Linac Coherent Light Source free-electron x-ray laser to probe the electronic structure of CO molecules as their chemisorption state on Ru(0001) changes upon exciting the substrate by using a femtosecond optical laser pulse. We observed electronic structure changes that are consistent with a weakening of the CO interaction with the substrate but without notable desorption. A large fraction of the molecules (30%) was trapped in a transient precursor state that would precede desorption. We calculated the free energy of the molecule as a function of the desorption reaction coordinate using density functional theory, including van der Waals interactions. Two distinct adsorption wells-chemisorbed and precursor state separated by an entropy barrier-explain the anomalously high prefactors often observed in desorption of molecules from metals.
Modern stationary X-ray spectroscopy is unable to resolve rotational structure.
In the present paper, we propose to use time-resolved two color X-ray pump-probe spectroscopy with picosecond resolution for real-time monitoring of the rotational dynamics induced by the recoil effect.
The proposed technique consists of two steps.
The first short pump X-ray pulse ionizes the valence electron, which transfers angular momentum to the molecule.
The second time-delayed short probe X-ray pulse resonantly excites a 1s electron to the created valence hole.
Due to the recoil-induced angular momentum the molecule rotates and changes the orientation of transition dipole moment of core-excitation with respect to the transition dipole moment of the valence ionization, which results in a temporal modulation of the probe X-ray absorption as a function of the delay time between the pulses.
We developed an accurate theory of the X-ray pump-probe spectroscopy of the recoil-induced rotation and study how the energy of the photoelectron and thermal dephasing affect the structure of the time-dependent X-ray absorption using the CO molecule as a case-study.
We also discuss the feasibility of experimental observation of our theoretical findings, opening new perspectives in studies of molecular rotational dynamics.
Selective ultrafast probing of transient hot chemisorbed and precursor States of CO on Ru(0001)
(2013)
We have studied the femtosecond dynamics following optical laser excitation of CO adsorbed on a Ru surface by monitoring changes in the occupied and unoccupied electronic structure using ultrafast soft x-ray absorption and emission. We recently reported [M. Dell'Angela et al. Science 339, 1302 (2013)] a phonon-mediated transition into a weakly adsorbed precursor state occurring on a time scale of >2 ps prior to desorption. Here we focus on processes within the first picosecond after laser excitation and show that the metal-adsorbate coordination is initially increased due to hot-electron-driven vibrational excitations. This process is faster than, but occurs in parallel with, the transition into the precursor state. With resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy, we probe each of these states selectively and determine the respective transient populations depending on optical laser fluence. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of CO adsorbed on Ru(0001) were performed at 1500 and 3000 K providing insight into the desorption process.
Resonant soft x-ray diffraction (RSXD) with femtosecond (fs) time resolution is a powerful tool for disentangling the interplay between different degrees of freedom in strongly correlated electron materials. It allows addressing the coupling of particular degrees of freedom upon an external selective perturbation, e. g., by an optical or infrared laser pulse. Here, we report a time-resolved RSXD experiment from the prototypical correlated electron material magnetite using soft x-ray pulses from the free-electron laser FLASH in Hamburg. We observe ultrafast melting of the charge-orbital order leading to the formation of a transient phase, which has not been observed in equilibrium.
For the layered transition metal dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2, we establish through a unique experimental approach and density functional theory, how ultrafast charge transfer in 1T-TaS2 takes on isotropic three-dimensional character or anisotropic two-dimensional character, depending on the commensurability of the charge density wave phases of 1T-TaS2. The X-ray spectroscopic core-hole-clock method prepares selectively in-and out-of-plane polarized sulfur 3p orbital occupation with respect to the 1T-TaS2 planes and monitors sub-femtosecond wave packet delocalization. Despite being a prototypical two-dimensional material, isotropic three-dimensional charge transfer is found in the commensurate charge density wave phase (CCDW), indicating strong coupling between layers. In contrast, anisotropic two-dimensional charge transfer occurs for the nearly commensurate phase (NCDW). In direct comparison, theory shows that interlayer interaction in the CCDW phase - not layer stacking variations - causes isotropic three-dimensional charge transfer. This is presumably a general mechanism for phase transitions and tailored properties of dichalcogenides with charge density waves.
The implementation of a high-transmission, angular-resolved time-of-Right electron spectrometer with a 1.25 MHz pulse selector at the PM4 soft X-ray dipole beamline of the synchrotron BESSY II creates unique capabilities to inquire electronic structure via photoelectron spectroscopy with a minimum of radiation dose. Solid-state samples can be prepared and characterized with standard UHV techniques and rapidly transferred from various preparation chambers to a 4-axis temperature-controlled measurement stage. A synchronized MHz laser system enables excited-state characterization and dynamical studies starting from the picosecond timescale. This article introduces the principal characteristics of the PM4 beamline and LowDosePES end-station. Recent results from graphene, an organic hole transport material for solar cells and the transition metal dichalcogenide MoS2 are presented to demonstrate the instrument performances.
We present a general experimental concept for jitter-free pump and probe experiments at free electron lasers. By generating pump and probe pulse from one and the same X-ray pulse using an optical split-and-delay unit, we obtain a temporal resolution that is limited only by the X-ray pulse lengths. In a two-color X-ray pump and X-ray probe experiment with sub 70 fs temporal resolution, we selectively probe the response of orbital and charge degree of freedom in the prototypical functional oxide magnetite after photoexcitation. We find electronic order to be quenched on a time scale of (30 +/- 30) fs and hence most likely faster than what is to be expected for any lattice dynamics. Our experimental result hints to the formation of a short lived transient state with decoupled electronic and lattice degree of freedom in magnetite. The excitation and relaxation mechanism for X-ray pumping is discussed within a simple model leading to the conclusion that within the first 10 fs the original photoexcitation decays into low-energy electronic excitations comparable to what is achieved by optical pump pulse excitation. Our findings show on which time scales dynamical decoupling of degrees of freedom in functional oxides can be expected and how to probe this selectively with soft X-ray pulses. Results can be expected to provide crucial information for theories for ultrafast behavior of materials and help to develop concepts for novel switching devices. (C) 2018 Author(s).
Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and X-ray emission spectroscopy can be used to probe the energy and dispersion of the elementary low-energy excitations that govern functionality in matter: vibronic, charge, spin and orbital excitations(1-7). A key drawback of resonant inelastic X-ray scattering has been the need for high photon densities to compensate for fluorescence yields of less than a per cent for soft X-rays(8). Sample damage from the dominant non-radiative decays thus limits the materials to which such techniques can be applied and the spectral resolution that can be obtained. A means of improving the yield is therefore highly desirable. Here we demonstrate stimulated X-ray emission for crystalline silicon at photon densities that are easily achievable with free-electron lasers(9). The stimulated radiative decay of core excited species at the expense of non-radiative processes reduces sample damage and permits narrow-bandwidth detection in the directed beam of stimulated radiation. We deduce how stimulated X-ray emission can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude to provide, with high yield and reduced sample damage, a superior probe for low-energy excitations and their dispersion in matter. This is the first step to bringing nonlinear X-ray physics in the condensed phase from theory(10-16) to application.