X-ray nanoimaging of an ultrafast phase transition

June 22, 2022

In a report published in PNAS, researchers report on a newly developed laser-pumped X-ray nanodiffraction imaging capability with 25 nm and 100 ps resolutions.

Schematic of laser-pumped x-ray nanodiffraction microscopy for studying structural dynamics at nanoscales. Time-resolved structural maps can be measured as a function of time.

Scientific Achievement

Time-resolved x-ray nanodiffraction reveals new transition pathways during an ultrafast phase transition that are fundamentally different from quasi-equilibrium transitions.

Significance and Impact

Crucial nanoscopic insights into ultrafast phase transitions obtained via spatiotemporally resolved structural characterization provide opportunities for controlling nanoscale magnetic phases on ultrafast time scales.

Research Details

•A first-of-its-kind laser-pumped x-ray nanodiffraction imaging capability with 25 nm and 100 ps resolutions at the CNM / APS Hard X-ray Nanoprobe Beamline was utilized.

•Key nanoscale processes were discovered in the optically induced AFM-FM phase transition of FeRh.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118597119

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Work was performed in part at the Center for Nanoscale Materials

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