1.
J Synchrotron Radiat
; 21(Pt 2): 380-5, 2014 Mar.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24562559
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 ≤â 5â ps and a peak reflectivity of â¼10(-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.