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Femtosecond X-ray measurement of coherent lattice vibrations near the Lindemann stability limit

  • The study of phase-transition dynamics in solids beyond a time-averaged kinetic description requires direct measurement of the changes in the atomic configuration along the physical pathways leading to the new phase. The timescale of interest is in the range 10(-14) to 10(-12) s. Until recently, only optical techniques were capable of providing adequate time resolution, albeit with indirect sensitivity to structural arrangement. Ultrafast laser-induced changes of long-range order have recently been directly established for some materials using time-resolved X-ray diffraction. However, the measurement of the atomic displacements within the unit cell, as well as their relationship with the stability limit of a structural phase, has to date remained obscure. Here we report time-resolved X-ray diffraction measurements of the coherent atomic displacement of the lattice atoms in photoexcited bismuth close to a phase transition. Excitation of large-amplitude coherent optical phonons gives rise to a periodic modulation of the X-ray diffraction efficiency. Stronger excitation corresponding to atomic displacements exceeding 10 per cent of the nearest-neighbour distance-near the Lindemann limit-leads to a subsequent loss of long-range order, which is most probably due to melting of the material.

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Metadaten
Author:Klaus Sokolowski-Tinten, Christian Blome, Juris Blums, Andrea Cavalleri, Clemens Dietrich, Alexander Tarasevitch, Ingo Uschmann, Eckhard Förster, Martin KammlerORCiDGND, Michael Horn-von Hoegen, Dietrich von der Linde
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01490
Parent Title (English):Nature
Publisher:Springer
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2003
Release Date:2022/11/24
Volume:422
Issue:6929
First Page:287
Last Page:289
Institutes:Fakultät Angewandte Natur- und Kulturwissenschaften
Fakultät Angewandte Natur- und Kulturwissenschaften / Labor Nanoanalytik und Halbleiterchemie (Nanochem)
Publication:Externe Publikationen
research focus:Produktion und Systeme
Licence (German):Keine Lizenz - Es gilt das deutsche Urheberrecht: § 53 UrhG