title: Femtosecond x-ray measurement of ultrafast melting and large acoustic transients.
abstract: Time-resolved x-ray diffraction with ultrashort ( approximately 300 fs), multi-keV x-ray pulses has been used to study the femtosecond laser-induced solid-to-liquid phase transition in a thin crystalline layer of germanium. Nonthermal melting is observed to take place within 300-500 fs. Following ultrafast melting we observe strong acoustic perturbations evolving on a picosecond time scale.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Laser- und Plasmaphysik, Universität Essen, D-45117 Essen, Germany. kst@ilp.physik.uni-essen.de
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sokolowski-Tinten
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blome
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tarasevitch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horn von Hoegen
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: von der Linde
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cavalleri
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Squier
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kammler