title: Ultrafast switching of hard X-rays.
abstract: A new concept for shortening hard X-ray pulses emitted from a third-generation synchrotron source down to few picoseconds is presented. The device, called the PicoSwitch, exploits the dynamics of coherent acoustic phonons in a photo-excited thin film. A characterization of the structure demonstrates switching times of ≤ 5 ps and a peak reflectivity of ∼10(-3). The device is tested in a real synchrotron-based pump-probe experiment and reveals features of coherent phonon propagation in a second thin film sample, thus demonstrating the potential to significantly improve the temporal resolution at existing synchrotron facilities.
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen Campus, BESSY II, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gaal
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schick
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bojahr
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen Campus, BESSY II, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shayduk
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Jevgeni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goldshteyn
authors.affiliation: Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Leitenberger
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik, Weinberg 2, 06120 Halle, Germany.
authors.forename: Ionela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vrejoiu
authors.affiliation: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 6 rue Jules Horowitz, 38000 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Khakhulin
authors.affiliation: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 6 rue Jules Horowitz, 38000 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wulff
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Wilhelm-Conrad-Röntgen Campus, BESSY II, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Matias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bargheer
keywords: X-ray switching; coherent phonons; optical pump X-ray probe; pulse shortening; thin film; time-resolved; ultrafast X-ray diffraction