Ultrafast electron crystallography

4D ultrafast electron diffraction, crystallography, and microscopy.

In this review, we highlight the progress made in the development of 4D ultrafast electron diffraction (UED), crystallography (UEC), and microscopy (UEM) with a focus on concepts, methodologies, and prototypical applications. The joint atomic-scale resolutions in space and time, and sensitivity reached, make it possible to determine complex transient structures and assemblies in different phase...

Ultrafast Electron Crystallography: Principles and Dynamics

Structural Preablation Dynamics of Graphite Observed by Ultrafast Electron Crystallography

Fabrizio Carbone, Peter Baum, Petra Rudolf, and Ahmed H. Zewail Physical Biology Center for Ultrafast Science & Technology, Arthur Amos Noyes Laboratory of Chemical Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena California, 91125, USA Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, NL-9747AG Groningen, The Netherlands (Received 15 October 2007; published ...

Ultrafast electron crystallography of the cooperative reaction path in vanadium dioxide

Time-resolved electron diffraction with atomic-scale spatial and temporal resolution was used to unravel the transformation pathway in the photoinduced structural phase transition of vanadium dioxide. Results from bulk crystals and single-crystalline thin-films reveal a common, stepwise mechanism: First, there is a femtosecond V-V bond dilation within 300 fs, second, an intracell adjustment in ...

Direct observation of optically induced transient structures in graphite using ultrafast electron crystallography.

We use ultrafast electron crystallography to study structural changes induced in graphite by a femtosecond laser pulse. At moderate fluences of < or =21 mJ/cm2, lattice vibrations are observed to thermalize on a time scale of approximately 8 ps. At higher fluences approaching the damage threshold, lattice vibration amplitudes saturate. Following a marked initial contraction, graphite is driven ...