Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy with Photons from the IR to the VUV

光对生命是必不可少的。例如，光是光合作用和视觉的关键。光在技术上也很重要，例如在纳米级的光电设备中。发展对光诱导过程的分子水平的理解对于合理设计新的光激活材料以应对当前社会面临的重要挑战至关重要，例如有效利用太阳能和开发新的疾病诊断和治疗工具。我们的愿景是建立一个独特的、最先进的激光设施，提供从红外(IR)到真空紫外线(VUV)的各种能量的飞秒光脉冲，安装在GB 2M专门建造的、环境控制的、稳定的地下室实验室中。我们将利用这一设施，通过使用自下而上的方法来研究复杂程度上的系统，从孤立的气相分子到蛋白质、纳米粒子、软材料和固体，以提高我们对光诱导过程的基本理解，应用范围从生物成像和治疗到太阳能材料。这将使用一种单一的光谱技术，即分子和离子束、液体-微射流和表面的时间分辨光电子光谱，并辅之以飞秒瞬时吸收光谱、飞秒受激拉曼光谱和多光子显微镜。

Light is essential for life. For example, light is key to photosynthesis and vision. Light is also important in technology, such as in nanoscale optoelectronic devices. Developing a molecular-level understanding of light-induced processes is crucial for the rational design of new light-activated materials to address important challenges currently facing society, such as harnessing solar energy efficiently and developing new tools for disease diagnosis and therapeutics. Our vision is to establish a unique, state-of-the-art, laser facility providing femtosecond light pulses with a wide range of energies, from the infrared (IR) to the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), housed in a £2M purpose-built, environmentally-controlled, stable basement laboratory. We will exploit this facility to improve our fundamental understanding of light-induced processes by using a bottom-up approach to study systems across the complexity scale, from isolated gas-phase molecules to proteins, nanoparticles, soft materials and solids, for applications ranging from bioimaging and therapeutics to solar energy materials. This will be achieved using a single spectroscopic technique, time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, in molecular and ion beams, liquid-microjets and surfaces, complemented by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy and multi-photon microscopy.