Instrumentation for a time-resolved micro-spectroscopy setup

• Subject Area: Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: Funded in 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 448775637

With this proposal instrumentation for time-resolved spectroscopy is applied for. The instrumentation consists of a pulsed laser system (main instrument), spectrometer, and accessories. The applied for instrumentation will be combined with an existing self-developed low-temperature laser-scanning microscopy setup to form a time-resolved micro-spectroscopy setup for the optical spectroscopy of nanostructures and nanomaterials. The laser system applied for consists of a titanium:sapphire laser and an optical parametric oscillator. Together the two produce two trains of laser pulses with a pulse length below 200 fs. The wavelength of the pulses can be tuned broadly over a large part of the visible and near-infrared spectral region. The repetition rate of the laser system is 80 MHz and can be lowered with a pulse picker.The time-resolved micro-spectroscopy setup enabled by the applied for instrumentation will be used in the field of nano-optics, applying methods of optical spectroscopy and microscopy to explore light-matter interactions on the nanoscale. The system will give access to the study of dynamical processes in nanostructures and nanomaterials with a time-resolution below 1 ps. This will enable probing, e.g., charge carrier dynamics in nanoscale semiconductors and devices thereof. Additionally, the high peak power of the pulsed laser system will enable nonlinear optical studies of nanostructures, which is a second major area of research in which the applied for instrumentation will be used. Examples of research topics in which the system will be applied after commissioning are optical spectroscopy of graphene nanoribbons and in exploring the influence of order of pi-conjugated molecules on their optoelectronic properties. The large tunability of the wavelengths of the laser system makes it versatile guaranteeing its applicability in spectroscopic studies in the future.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Instrumentierung für einen zeitaufgelösten Mikrospektroskopie-Aufbau
• Instrumentation Group: 5700 Festkörper-Laser
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Leader: Professor Dr. Klas Lindfors