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We combine ultrafast X-ray diffraction (UXRD) and time-resolved Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect (MOKE) measurements to monitor the strain pulses in laser-excited TbFe2/Nb heterostructures. Spatial separation of the Nb detection layer from the laser excitation region allows for a background-free characterization of the laser-generated strain pulses. We clearly observe symmetric bipolar strain pulses if the excited TbFe2 surface terminates the sample and a decomposition of the strain wavepacket into an asymmetric bipolar and a unipolar pulse, if a SiO2 glass capping layer covers the excited TbFe2 layer. The inverse magnetostriction of the temporally separated unipolar strain pulses in this sample leads to a MOKE signal that linearly depends on the strain pulse amplitude measured through UXRD. Linear chain model simulations accurately predict the timing and shape of UXRD and MOKE signals that are caused by the strain reflections from multiple interfaces in the heterostructure.
We combine ultrafast X-ray diffraction (UXRD) and time-resolved Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect (MOKE) measurements to monitor the strain pulses in laser-excited TbFe2/Nb heterostructures. Spatial separation of the Nb detection layer from the laser excitation region allows for a background-free characterization of the laser-generated strain pulses. We clearly observe symmetric bipolar strain pulses if the excited TbFe2 surface terminates the sample and a decomposition of the strain wavepacket into an asymmetric bipolar and a unipolar pulse, if a SiO2 glass capping layer covers the excited TbFe2 layer. The inverse magnetostriction of the temporally separated unipolar strain pulses in this sample leads to a MOKE signal that linearly depends on the strain pulse amplitude measured through UXRD. Linear chain model simulations accurately predict the timing and shape of UXRD and MOKE signals that are caused by the strain reflections from multiple interfaces in the heterostructure.
The electric field-dependence of structural dynamics in a tetragonal ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate thin film is investigated under subcoercive and above-coercive fields using time-resolved X-ray diffraction. The domain nucleation and growth are monitored in real time during the application of an external field to the prepoled thin film capacitor. We propose the observed broadening of the in-plane peak width of the symmetric 002 Bragg reflection as an indicator of the domain disorder and discuss the processes that change the measured peak intensity. Subcoercive field switching results in remnant disordered domain configurations. Published under license by AIP Publishing.
Nanoscale heating by optical excitation of plasmonic nanoparticles offers a new perspective of controlling chemical reactions, where heat is not spatially uniform as in conventional macroscopic heating but strong temperature gradients exist around microscopic hot spots. In nanoplasmonics, metal particles act as a nanosource of light, heat, and energetic electrons driven by resonant excitation of their localized surface plasmon resonance. As an example of the coupling reaction of 4-nitrothiophenol into 4,4′-dimercaptoazobenzene, we show that besides the nanoscopic heat distribution at hot spots, the microscopic distribution of heat dictated by the spot size of the light focus also plays a crucial role in the design of plasmonic nanoreactors. Small sizes of laser spots enable high intensities to drive plasmon-assisted catalysis. This facilitates the observation of such reactions by surface-enhanced Raman scattering, but it challenges attempts to scale nanoplasmonic chemistry up to large areas, where the excess heat must be dissipated by one-dimensional heat transport.
We measure the transient strain profile in a nanoscale multilayer system composed of yttrium, holmium, and niobium after laser excitation using ultrafast x-ray diffraction. The strain propagation through each layer is determined by transient changes in the material-specific Bragg angles. We experimentally derive the exponentially decreasing stress profile driving the strain wave and show that it closely matches the optical penetration depth. Below the Neel temperature of Ho, the optical excitation triggers negative thermal expansion, which is induced by a quasi-instantaneous contractive stress and a second contractive stress contribution increasing on a 12-ps timescale. These two timescales were recently measured for the spin disordering in Ho [Rettig et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 257202 (2016)]. As a consequence, we observe an unconventional bipolar strain pulse with an inverted sign traveling through the heterostructure.