January 3, 2012
Title: X-ray Holography: From the Basics to Femtosecond Single-shot Imaging
Speaker: Andreas Scherz, SIMES Research
A large variety of systems in soft, hard and biological matter contain nanoscale heterogeneity that determines their functionality and macroscopic properties. The experimental study of these materials on both the relevant length and time scales has been difficult. X-ray lasers such as LCLS promise to fill this gap by giving access to nanoscale phenomena at timescales pertinent to the motion of atoms, charges and spins.
Single-shot imaging has become a crucial tool in the study of ultrafast, nanoscale dynamics – particularly when processes cease to be repeatable in space and time. We will discuss recent developments in X-ray holography for nanoscale imaging of the spin-resolved electronic structure of magnetic materials. We present first single-shot images of nanoscale spin-order in a Co/Pd ferromagnet taken with 80 and 360fs X-ray pulses, and address whether and when the “probe before damage” concept carries over from the atomic to the electronic and spin structure determination.