Ultrafast electron microscopy and diffraction

Prof. Dr. P. Baum, Fakultät für Physik, LMU München

For more detailed information, see ultrafast-electron-imaging.de

Research Activities

Atomic and electronic motions from initial to final confirmations are the basis to almost any process in the world around us. We apply femtosecond and attosecond electron microscopy and diffraction to make these motions visible in space and time. This approach provides the most direct possible insight into the very foundations of light-matter interaction.

Currently we are studying the electromagnetic waveforms inside of metamaterials, the atomic-scale carrier dynamics that causes the refractive index in dielectrics, the quantum dynamics of single-electron wavepackets in sub-cycle laser fields, the atomic motion during chemical reactions and the charge transport during solar cell operation. Due to electron microscopy’s very versatile applicability, almost any substance can be investigated and probed for discovery.

Representative references

1. Electron microscopy of electromagnetic waveforms
   Andrey Ryabov and Peter Baum, Science 353, 374 (2016).
2. All-optical control and metrology of electron pulses
   Catherine Kealhofer, Waldemar Schneider, Dominik Ehberger, Andrey Ryabov, Ferenc Krausz, Peter Baum, Science 352, 429 (2016).
3. 4D Visualization of Transitional Structures in Phase Transformations by Electron Diffraction
   Peter Baum, Ding-Shyue Yang and Ahmed H. Zewail, Science 318, 788 (2007).