Ultrafast dynamics in photo-excited Mott insulator Sr_(3)Ir_(2)O_7 at high pressure

High-pressure ultrafast dynamics,as a new crossed research direction,are sensitive to subtle non-equilibrium state changes that might be unresolved by equilibrium states measurements,providing crucial information for studying delicate phase transitions caused by complex interactions in Mott insulators.With time-resolved transient reflectivity measurements,we identified the new phases in the spin–orbit Mott insulator Sr_(3)Ir_(2)O_7 at 300 K that was previously unidentified using conventional approaches such as x-ray diffraction.Significant pressure-dependent variation of the amplitude and lifetime obtained by fitting the reflectivity?R/R reveal the changes of electronic structure caused by lattice distortions,and reflect the critical phenomena of phase transitions.Our findings demonstrate the importance of ultrafast nonequilibrium dynamics under extreme conditions for understanding the phase transition of Mott insulators.

Investigation of ultrafast dynamics of CdTe quantum dots by femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion spectroscopy

The ultrafast carrier relaxation processes in CdTe quantum dots are investigated by femtosecond fluorescence upconversion spectroscopy.Photo-excited hole relaxing to the edge of the forbidden gap takes a maximal time of ～ 1.6 ps with exciting at 400 nm,depending on the state of the photo-excited hole.The shallow trapped states and deep trap states in the forbidden gap are confirmed for CdTe quantum dots.In addition,Auger relaxation of trapped carriers is observed to occur with a time constant of ～ 5 ps.A schematic model of photodynamics is established based on the results of the spectroscopy studies.Our work demonstrates that femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion spectroscopy is a suitable and effective tool in studying the transportation and conversion dynamics of photon energy in a nanosystem.

Ultrafast dynamics observation during femtosecond laser-material interaction

Femtosecond laser technology has attracted significant attention from the viewpoints of fundamental and application;especially femtosecond laser processing materials present the unique mechanism of laser-material interaction.Under the extreme nonequilibrium conditions imposed by femtosecond laser irradiation,many fundamental questions concerning the physical origin of the material removal process remain unanswered.In this review,cutting-edge ultrafast dynamic observation techniques for investigating the fundamental questions,including timeresolved pump-probe shadowgraphy,ultrafast continuous optical imaging,and four-dimensional ultrafast scanning electron microscopy,are comprehensively surveyed.Each technique is described in depth,beginning with its basic principle,followed by a description of its representative applications in laser-material interaction and its strengths and limitations.The consideration of temporal and spatial resolutions and panoramic measurement at different scales are two major challenges.Hence,the prospects for technical advancement in this field are discussed finally.

Ultrafast dynamics of cationic electronic states of vinyl bromide by strong-field ionization-photofragmentation

Strong field ionization-photofragmentation(SFI-PF)with ultrafast pump–probe scheme is a powerful approach to study the dynamics of molecular cationic electronic states.Here we carry out a SFI-PF study on the cationic electronic states of vinyl bromide,C_(2)H_(3)Br.The yields of the parent C_(2)H_(3)Br_(+)and the formation of the fragment(Br^(+),C_(2)H^(+)2 and C_(2)H^(+)3)ions have been measured at different pump–probe delay time.Analysis provides experimental evidence of A^(2)A'–X^(2)A'' internal conversion of vinyl bromide cations which occurs in a time of about 220 fs,and the time of C_(2)H_(3)^(+) formation induced by the dissociation of the A^(2)A' state around 300 fs.The study would add our knowledge of the behavior of electronic excited states of complex molecular cations.

Ultrafast carrier dynamics in GeSn thin film based on time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

We measure the time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy of GeSn thin film and studied the ultrafast dynamics of its photo-generated carriers.The experimental results show that there are photo-generated carriers in GeSn under femtosecond laser excitation at 2500 nm,and its pump-induced photoconductivity can be explained by the Drude–Smith model.The carrier recombination process is mainly dominated by defect-assisted Auger processes and defect capture.The firstand second-order recombination rates are obtained by the rate equation fitting,which are(2.6±1.1)×10^(-2)ps^(-1)and(6.6±1.8)×10^(-19)cm^(3)·ps^(-1),respectively.Meanwhile,we also obtain the diffusion length of photo-generated carriers in GeSn,which is about 0.4μm,and it changes with the pump delay time.These results are important for the GeSn-based infrared optoelectronic devices,and demonstrate that Ge Sn materials can be applied to high-speed optoelectronic detectors and other applications.

Ultrafast magneto-optical dynamics in nickel(111)single crystal studied by the integration of ultrafast reflectivity and polarimetry probes

With the integration of ultrafast reflectivity and polarimetry probes,we observed carrier relaxation and spin dynamics induced by ultrafast laser excitation of Ni(111)single crystals.The carrier relaxation time within the linear excitation range reveals that electron-phonon coupling and dissipation of photon energy into the bulk of the crystal take tens of picoseconds.On the other hand,the observed spin dynamics indicate a longer time of about 120 ps.To further understand how the lattice degree of freedom is coupled with these dynamics may require the integration of an ultrafast diffraction probe.

Comprehensive study of the ultrafast photoexcited carrier dynamics in Sb_(2)Te_(3)–GeTe superlattices

Chalcogenide superlattices Sb_(2)Te_(3)-GeTe is a candidate for interfacial phase-change memory(iPCM) data storage devices.By employing terahertz emission spectroscopy and the transient reflectance spectroscopy together,we investigate the ultrafast photoexcited carrier dynamics and current transients in Sb_(2)Te_(3)-GeTe superlattices.Sample orientation and excitation polarization dependences of the THz emission confirm that ultrafast thermo-electric,shift and injection currents contribute to the THz generation in Sb_(2)Te_(3)-GeTe superlattices.By decreasing the thickness and increasing the number of GeTe and Sb_(2)Te_(3) layer,the interlayer coupling can be enhanced,which significantly reduces the contribution from circular photo-galvanic effect(CPGE).A photo-induced bleaching in the transient reflectance spectroscopy probed in the range of~1100 nm to~1400 nm further demonstrates a gapped state resulting from the interlayer coupling.These demonstrates play an important role in the development of iPCM-based high-speed optoelectronic devices.

Photo-Induced Ultrafast Electron Dynamics in Anatase and Rutile TiO_(2):Effects of Electron-Phonon Interaction

The photo-induced ultrafast electron dynamics in both anatase and rutile TiO_(2) are investigated by using the Boltzmann transport equation with the explicit incorporation of electron-phonon scattering rates.All structural parameters required for dynamic simulations are obtained from ab initio calculations.The results show that although the longitudinal optical modes significantly affect the electron energy relaxation dynamics in both phases due to strong Fr?hlich-type couplings,the detailed relaxation mechanisms have obvious differences.In the case of a single band,the energy relaxation time in anatase is 24.0 fs,twice longer than 11.8 fs in rutile.This discrepancy is explained by the different diffusion distributions over the electronic Bloch states and different scattering contributions from acoustic modes in the two phases.As for the multiple-band situation involving the lowest six conduction bands,the predicted overall relaxation times are about 47 fs and 57 fs in anatase and rutile,respectively,very different from the case of the single band.The slower relaxation in rutile is attributed to the existence of multiple rate-controlled steps during the dynamic process.The present findings may be helpful to control the electron dynamics for designing efficient TiO_(2)-based devices.

Cation and anion substitution effects on the ultrafast dynamics of interionic interaction in imidazolium based ionic liquids

Room-temperature Ionic Liquids(ILs) have numerous unique properties that differ from those of conventional molecular solvents.Although the unique properties of ILs have been suggested to origin from their microscopic interionic interaction,detailed dynamics of interionic interaction of ILs has not been fully understood.Here,with the Femtosecond Optical Heterodyne-Detected Raman Induced Kerr Effect Spectroscopy(fs-OHD-RIKES),we measured the ultrafast dynamics of the interionic interaction of three typical imidazolium based ILs,1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate([bmim][BF4]),1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([bmim][PF6]),and 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate([dmim][BF4]).We observed several periods of subpicosecond oscillation in their fs-OHD-RIKES signals.Through decomposing their fs-OHD-RIKES signals into four Brownian oscillators in time domain,we explored the cation and anion substitution effects on the ultrafast dynamics of interionic interaction of ILs.We found that the cation substitution affected all the low frequency motions we observed,while the anion substitution only affected the two higher low frequency motions.

Probing the ultrafast dynamics in nanomaterial complex systems by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy

Over the past decade the integration of ultrafast spectroscopy with nanoscience has greatly propelled the development of nanoscience, as the key information gleaned from the mechanistic studies with the assistance of ultrafast spectroscopy enables a deeper understanding of the structure–function interplay and various interactions involved in the nanosystems.This mini-review presents an overview of the recent advances achieved in our ultrafast spectroscopy laboratory that address the ultrafast dynamics and related mechanisms in several representative nanomaterial complex systems by means of femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. We attempt to convey instructive, consistent information regarding the important processes, pathways, dynamics, and interactions involved in the nanomaterial complex systems,most of which exhibit excellent performance in photocatalysis.

Channel-Resolved Ultrafast Dissociation Dynamics of NO2 Molecules Studied via Femtosecond Time-Resolved Ion Imaging

The ultrafast dissociation dynamics of NO2 molecules was investigated by femtosecond laser pump-probe mass spectra and ion images.The results show that the kinetic energy release of NO+ions has two components,0.05 eV and 0.25 eV,and the possible dissociation channels have been assigned.The channel resolved transient measurement of NO^+provides a method to disentangle the contribution of ultrafast dissociation pathways,and the transient curves of NO^+ions at different kinetic energy release are fitted by a biexponential function.The fast component with a decay time of 0.25 ps is generated from the evolution of Rydberg states.The slow component is generated from two competitive channels,one of the channel is absorbing one 400nm photon to the excited state A^2B2,which has a decay time of 30.0ps,and the other slow channel is absorbing three 400nm photons to valence type Rydberg states which have a decay time less than 7.2ps.The channel and time resolved experiment present the potential of sorting out the complex ultrafast dissociation dynamics of molecules.

Development and Application of Ultrafast Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy Techniques

Chirality hold broad applications in life sciences,quantum devices,and various other areas.Traditionally,molecular chirality can be characterized by using steady-state circular dichroism spectroscopy.However,the techniques that can characterize excited state chirality are progressively capturing the public interest as it can provide the dynamic information for chirality generation and transfer.In this review,we focus on the theoretical background and the developmental history of femtosecond time-resolved circular dichroism spectroscopy(TRCD)techniques around the world.Additionally,we provide examples to showcase the utility of these techniques in the analysis of the dynamical molecular chemical structures,the investigation of molecular chirality generation,and the detection of electron spin dynamics in semiconductor quantum dots.

Femtosecond Time-Resolved Spectroscopic Photoemission Electron Microscopy for Probing Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics in Heterojunctions

The fast developing semiconductor industry is pushing to shrink and speed up transistors. This trend requires us to understand carrier dynamics in semiconductor heterojunctions with both high spatial and temporal resolutions. Recently, we have successfully set up a timeresolved photoemission electron microscopy (TR-PEEM), which integrates the spectroscopic technique to measure electron densities at specific energy levels in space. This instrument provides us an unprecedented access to the evolution of electrons in terms of spatial location, time resolution, and energy, representing a new type of 4D spectro-microscopy. Here in this work, we present measurements of semiconductor performance with a time resolution of 184 fs, electron kinetic energy resolution of 150 meV, and spatial resolution of about 150 nm or better. We obtained time-resolved micro-area photoelectron spectra and energy-resolved TR-PEEM images on the Pb island on Si(111). These experimental results suggest that this instrument has the potential to be a powerful tool for investigating the carrier dynamics in various heterojunctions, which will deepen our understanding of semiconductor properties in the submicron/nanometer spatial scales and ultrafast time scales.

Bis(4-methylthio)phenyl)amine-based hole transport materials for highly-efficient perovskite solar cells: insight into the carrier ultrafast dynamics and interfacial transport

Hole transport layers(HTLs)play a significant role in the performance of perovskite solar cells.A new class of linear smallmolecules based on bis(4-methylthio)phenyl)amine as an end group,carbon,oxygen and sulfur as the center atoms for the center unit(denoted as MT-based small-molecule),respectively,have been applied as HTL,and two of them presented the efficiency over 20%in the planar inverted perovskite solar cells(PSCs),which demonstrated a significant improvement in comparison with the widely used HTL,poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)(known as PEDOT:PSS),in the planar inverted architecture.The ultrafast carrier dynamics show that the excited hot carrier cooling process of MT-based small-molecule HTL samples is faster than that of PEDOT:PSS samples.The kinetic analysis of photo-bleaching peaks of femtosecond transient absorption spectra reveals that the traps at the interface between MT-based small-molecule HTLs and MAPbI3 can be filled much quicker than that at PEDOT/MAPbI3 interfaces.Moreover,the hole injection time from MAPbI3 to MT-based small-molecule HTLs is around 10 times quicker than that to PEDOT:PSS.Such quick trap filling and hole extraction bring a significant enhancement in photovoltaic performances.These findings uncover the carrier transport mechanisms and illuminate a promising approach for the design of new HTLs for highly-efficient perovskite solar cells.

Probing Ultrafast Dissociation Dynamics of Chloroiodomethane in the B Band by Time-Resolved Mass Spectrometry

Ultrafast dissociation dynamics of chloroiodomethane （CH2ICl） in the B band is studied by femtosecond time- resolved time-of-flight （TOF） mass spectrometry. Time-resolved TOF mass signal of parent ion （CH2ICl＋） and main daughter ion （CH2Cl＋） are obtained. The curve for the transient signal of CH2ICl＋ is simple and can be well fitted by an exponential decay convoluted with a Gaussian function. The decay constant determined to be less than 35 fs reflects the lifetime of the B band. Significant substituent effects on photodissociation dynamics of CH2IC1 compared with CH3I are discussed. The dissociation time from the parent ion CH2IC1＋ to the daughter ion CH2Cl＋ is determined in the experiment. The optimized geometry of the ionic state of CH2ICl and the ionization energy are calculated for further analysis of the measurements. In addition, compared with the parent ion, a new decay component with time constant of -596 fs is observed for CH2Cl＋, and reasonable mechanisms are proposed for the explanation.

Imaging Ultrafast Plasmon Dynamics within a Complex Dolmen Nanostructure Using Photoemission Electron Microscopy

We report direct nanoscale imaging of ultrafast plasmon in a gold dolmen nanostructure excited with the 7is laser pulses by combining the interferometric time-resolved technology with the three-photon photoemission electron microscopy （PEEM）. The interferometric time-resolved traces show that the plasmon mode beating pattern appears at the ends of the dimer slabs in the dolmen nanostructure as a result of coherent superposition of multiple localized surface plasmon modes induced by broad bandwidth of the ultrafast laser pulses. The PEEM measurement further discloses that in-phase of the oscillation field of two neighbor defects are surprisingly observed, which is attributed to the plasmon coupling between them. Furthermore, the control of the temporal delay between the pump and probe laser pluses could be utilized for manipulation of the near-field distribution. These findings deepen our understanding of ultrafast plasmon dynamics in a complex nanosystem.

Ultrafast plasmon dynamics in asymmetric gold nanodimers

We theoretically investigate the effect of symmetry breaking on the ultrafast plasmon responses of Au nanodisk(ND)dimers by varying the diameter of one of the constituent nanodisks.In the case of a single ultrafast laser pulse,we demonstrate that the ultrafast responses of Au ND homodimer can be significantly modified due to the effect of symmetry breaking.The symmetric dimer shows a single broad spectral peak,whereas the size-asymmetric dimer shows three spectral peaks.The first system displays at most one temporal maximum and no beats in ultrafast temporal,whereas the second system may have three temporal maxima and two beats due to a combination of broken symmetry and the coherent superposition between various plasmon modes induced by the ultra-short laser pulse.Moreover,the shape of temporal dynamics of the size-asymmetric dimer is significantly deformed due to the excitation of local plasmon modes with different wavelength components.Furthermore,the decay time of the amplitude of the local field is longer and oscillates with a high frequency due to the narrower linewidth and red-shifted spectral peaks.We show that the ultrafast plasmon responses of both dimers can be controlled by varying the relative phase and time delays between a pair of two pulses.Our results will open new paths to understanding ultrafast plasmon responses in asymmetric heterodimers with suitable properties for different applications.

Manipulating magnetic anisotropy and ultrafast spin dynamics of magnetic nanostructures

We present our extensive research into magnetic anisotropy. We tuned the terrace width of Si（111） substrate by a novel method： varying the direction of heating current and consequently manipulating the magnetic anisotropy of magnetic structures on the stepped substrate by decorating its atomic steps. Laser-induced ultrafast demagnetization of a Co FeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunneling junction was explored by the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect（TRMOKE） for both the parallel state（P state） and the antiparallel state（AP state） of the magnetizations between two magnetic layers. It was observed that the demagnetization time is shorter and the magnitude of demagnetization is larger in the AP state than those in the P state. These behaviors are attributed to the ultrafast spin transfer between two CoFeB layers via the tunneling of hot electrons through the MgO barrier. Our observation indicates that ultrafast demagnetization can be engineered by the hot electron tunneling current. This opens the door to manipulate the ultrafast spin current in magnetic tunneling junctions. Furthermore, an all-optical TR-MOKE technique provides the flexibility for exploring the nonlinear magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic materials, especially with metallic materials.

Probing of Ultrafast Plasmon Dynamics on Gold Bowtie Nanostructure Using Photoemission Electron Microscopy

We report the direct imaging of plasmon on the tips pulses and probing of ultrafast plasmon dynamics by of nano-prisms in a bowtie structure excited by 7 fs laser combining the pump-probe technology with three-photon photoemission electron microscopy. Different photoemission patterns induced by the plasmon effect are observed when the bowties are excited by s- and p-polarized femtosecond laser pulses. A series of images of the evolution of local surface plasmon modes on different tips of the bowtie are obtained by the time-resolved three-photon photoemission electron microscopy, and the result discloses that plasmon excitation is dominated by the interfer- ence of the pump and probe pulses within the first 13 fs of the delay time, and thereafter the individual plasmon starts to oscillate on its own characteristic resonant frequencies.

Doping Copper Ions in a Metal-Organic Framework(UiO-66-NH2):Location Effect Examined by Ultrafast Spectroscopy

We constructed two types of copper-doped metal-organic framework(MOF),i.e.,Cu@UiO-66-NH2 and Cu-UiO-66-NH2.In the former,Cu2+ions are impregnated in the pore space of the amine-functionalized,Zr-based UiO-66-NH2;while in the latter,Cu^2+ions are incorporated to form a bimetal-center MOF,with Zr^4+being partially replaced by Cu2+in the Zr-O oxo-clusters.Ultrafast spectroscopy revealed that the photoinduced relaxation kinetics associated with the ligand-to-cluster charge-transfer state is promoted for both Cudoped MOFs relative to undoped one,but in a sequence of Cu-UiO-66-NH2>Cu@UiO-66-NH2>UiO-66-NH2.Such a sequence turned to be in line with the trend observed in the visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity tests on the three MOFs.These findings highlighted the subtle effect of copper-doping location in this Zr-based MOF system,further suggesting that rational engineering of the specific metal-doping location in alike MOF systems to promote the photoinduced charge separation and hence suppress the detrimental charge recombination therein is beneficial for achieving improved performances in MOF-based photocatalysis.