IMR: Development of an Amplified Ultrafast Laser System with Time-Resolved Electron Diffraction

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The PIs will purchase a commercial, ultrafast laser system that will be used together with an apparatus for time-resolved electron diffraction studies of fast materials processes. The apparatus for time-resolved electron diffraction will be developed by the PIs and will be used by the PIs and their collaborators to advance fundamental understanding of the kinetics of rapid glass formation and recrystallization, laser processing of supported nanocrystals, structural transformations in complex oxides, and the evolution of steady-state nanostructures in laser-driven alloys. Furthermore, the laser system will be used independently of the electron diffraction apparatus for ultrafast processing of carbon nanotube suspensions, sample preparation for atom-probe microscopy, micron-scale modifications of substrates for epitaxial crystal growth, and experiments on shock induced phase transformations. The new equipment will open broad new areas of materials research and will be made available to the wider community of materials researchers, educators, and students by operation within the Center of Microanalysis of Materials, a multi-user facility located in the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois.Recent advances in laser science have produced a revolution in the maximum power that can be delivered by a pulse of light; lasers that produce light pulses of duration less than a trillionth of second and peak powers measured in billions of watts are now routine and scientists and engineers are exploring the applications of these modern ultrafast lasers in a wide variety of fields: for example, dental and eye surgery, medical imaging, and the manufacturing of electronic and optical devices. The group of materials scientists, physicists, and chemical engineers at the University of Illinois will use their grant from the Instrumentation Program to purchase an ultrafast laser and will integrate the laser system with a novel tool-based on the scattering of ultrashort pulses of electrons-for probing laser-induced changes in metals, semiconductors, and ceramics that occur on time-scales of only a few trillionths of a second. This new equipment will be made available to a diverse community of materials researchers at the University of Illinois and throughout the country; and will serve a critical role in scientific education by providing a state-of-the art laboratory for the training of young scientists in the rapidly advancing field of ultrafast laser processes.