News
News
2024
Visit from Anne L'Huillier in our laboratory
Anne L'Huillier paid us a short visit in the laboratory today. She had wanted to get an impression of the developments in Oldenburg for some time and now she finally had the opportunity. Beforehand, she gave an inspiring lecture to an audience of around 350 people in the large lecture hall in Wechloy. Many people will certainly remember this lecture for a long time to come, not least due to delays caused by the train. Spontaneously organized lab tours for all those waiting contributed to the exchange within the faculty and beyond.
Arvid is back!
Welcome back, Arvid! We are delighted that you have decided to carry out your doctoral project with us. We wish you a good start and many exciting discoveries in the lab!
Welcome back, Julia!
We warmly welcome Julia back to our working group. After working on short laser pulses in her Bachelor's thesis, she will devote her Master's thesis to the application of short pulses for time-resolved electron microscopy. She will build on Kerstin's previous work on the strong-field emission of electrons in ultrashort light fields - spatially resolved and in k-space using our photoemission electron microscope. We wish you lots of fun and success!
Preprint published on arXiv: Our laser system
Today a preprint of a paper on our laser system was published on the arXiv server. We present the details of our laser system and first applications with it. We will celebrate the publication once it has gone through the peer review process. Nevertheless, we are all happy for Katrin about this important step.
First paper of the AG atto!
There is reason to celebrate: the first paper of our still young working group was published today in the journal Optics Express. The publication, which contains parts of Julia's and Caro's bachelor theses, is about the development of a new measurement method for ultrashort light pulses. The method, called "BIRDS", short for "Bi-pulse Reconstruction via Dispersion Scan", can be used to measure pairs of pulses that propagate next to each other at a fixed time interval. Or it can be used to determine the temporal wings of a pulse, e.g. pre- or post-pulses, with greater accuracy than with other methods. It goes back to an interesting discovery in the laboratory. In contrast to established methods, this method does not(!) generate the measurement signal precisely when the pulses are compressed to the maximum. Congratulations to all involved!
Physics Day 2024
Today, Wednesday, right before the start of the fall break in Lower Saxony, the annual Physics Day took place at the Institute of Physics. Pupils and their teachers were invited to get an impression of studying and research in Oldenburg on this morning.
Our working group was involved in two activities on this day: We offered 4 lab tours for small groups of pupils, which Katrin, Kerstin and Arvid were in charge of. There was a laser system for short light pulses, our attosecond beamline and, of course, our electron microscope to marvel at. The latter could also be operated briefly. We also gave a presentation on last year's Nobel Prize for Physics. Explained at the appropriate level so that hopefully everyone could take something away from it. Thanks for coming along!
Congratulations, Arvid!
All members of the AG atto congratulate Arvid on passing his Master's thesis exam today: Congratulations! Arvid has built our group's laser system as part of his thesis, in close collaboration with Katrin, for which we are very grateful. In his written thesis, he has also shown that he can not only design, build and characterize a unique laser system, but that he also understands the theory behind it. It would be a shame if he were to turn his back on science now...
LiMatI conference in Rostock
This week Katrin, Kerstin and Lina were at the conference of the Collaborative Research Center LiMatI in Rostock. They presented our recent work on ultrafast light-matter interaction on three posters: Our Laser System & High Harmonics, Strong-field Electron Emission in PEEM and Ultrafast Dynamics in Gold Sponges.
Entdecker*innentage at the University of Oldenburg
Yesterday and today, the Entdecker*innentage took place at the University of Oldenburg on the Wechloy campus. School classes and interested parties were able to gain insights into research and carry out small experiments themselves over two days. We opened our laboratory doors for many small guided tours. One highlight was our "treasure hunt on the nanoscale", in which our electron microscope played an important role.
New colleague wanted!
We are currently advertising a further position that will give you the opportunity to do a doctorate. Due to the approaching end of the first funding phase next year, the position will initially be relatively short-term. However, this should be extended quickly once the second funding phase has been approved. We look forward to receiving applications as well as personal enquiries in advance.
https://uol.de/stellen?stelle=70307
There are of course still opportunities to write a Bachelor's or Master's thesis.
Welcome, Thea and Philip
At the start of the summer semester, Thea and Philip decided to write their bachelor theses in our group. Congratulations on this wise decision. ;) Over the next few months, they will be working on the preparation of atomically defined surfaces and investigating gold nanostructures using our photoemission electron microscope and short laser pulses. It will certainly be exciting, we wish you a good start!
If you are interested in writing a bachelor thesis, please contact a current group member or one of our alumni to find out more about working in our group.
Bachelor lecture by Niels
Today, Niels successfully gave his presentation as our last Bachelor student. His work dealt with the topic "Pulse energy stability in optical frequency conversion stages: Set-up and Characterisation". He analysed in detail how the pulse energy stability develops in our relatively complex laser system from the pump laser to the output pulses. He was also involved in the construction of part of the system. Many thanks for the support and all the best for the Master's programme!
A new bachelor's thesis is already starting at the end of March, but we still have some supervision capacity. Please get in touch!
First (HHG) Light!
At last! The first harmonics have not only been produced, but also measured. Congratulations to Arvid, Katrin, Kerstin and Lina, a great achievement!
Within almost exactly one year, they have set up the laser system and put the attosecond beamline into operation. A year ago, there was only the optical table in the lab and the pump laser had just been put into operation. Both the laser system and the beamline, which includes the gas target and the XUV spectrometer, are in-house developments. We would particularly like to thank the mechanical workshops at the University of Oldenburg, who provide us with fast and competent support in many areas.
Congratulations, Julia!
Julia completed her final exam for her Bachelor's degree today: she presented her Bachelor's thesis on "Characterisation of Ultrashort Laser Pulses in the Near-Infrared Spectral Range" in a seminar presentation and was able to convince the examiners. Congratulations from the atto group! She can now concentrate fully on her Master's degree programme. We wish her all the best!
2023
New publication
Experimental work from Jan's time in Lund has now made it to publication. The paper recently published in the journal Advanced Physics Research.
The publication is about the first demonstration of a time-resolved experiment with attosecond pulses in a photoemission electron microscope. We have been working on this for a long time and with the experience we have gained, we want to carry out the first experiments on fundamental questions of light-matter interaction in Oldenburg. With high spatio-temporal resolution, in keeping with the name of our junior research group.
The article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/apxr.202300122
Our work is also highlighted in Advanced Science News:
And there is a press release from the university:
Progress towards HHG
Our new vacuum chamber for generating high harmonics and thus attosecond pulses is now in operation. We have only been able to find leaks at our flange connections in the meantime; the chamber itself is in perfect working order. The Plexiglas covers manufactured by the mechanical workshops at the University of Oldenburg are also bending a little as expected, but are withstanding the pressure so that we have a clear view of the optical setup in the chamber. This will continue to grow over the next few weeks. Here are just pictures of an empty chamber, which are no longer up to date.
PS: Yes, all the tubes are round. However, the imaging properties of mobile phone cameras are not ideal for large angles.
Interview on the university homepage
A small interview has been published on the university homepage about attosecond physics in Oldenburg and the connection to Lund. The occasion is, of course, the Nobel Prize in Physics 2023.
Click here for the interview.
Vacuum chamber: The next one(s)!
Today our custom-made vacuum chamber was delivered by the company Hositrad. As always, absolutely on time, we are very satisfied. In this chamber (or actually two chambers - you never know what else you'll want to change) we will soon also follow in the (outsized) footsteps of the Nobel Prize winners in physics in 2023 in our laboratory and generate attosecond pulses ourselves. Unlike the prize-winning experiments, however, we will not be dealing with the gas phase, but with nanostructured interfaces or nanostructures themselves. Our electron microscope is already looking forward to the "high-energy food" in the form of electrons emitted by XUV photons.
New group member: Lina!
We warmly welcome Lina Hansen to the atto group. She starts today (ah, Sunday: tomorrow!) with us in the group as a PhD student. She already brings experience in electron microscopy of 2D materials and will therefore initially strengthen our PEEM team. We wish her every success and a good start!
Anne L'Huillier receives Zukunftspreis 2023 from the Leibinger Foundation. And the Nobel prize!
Anne L'Huillier, one of the co-founders of the field of attosecond physics, received the Leibinger Foundation's Zukunftspreis 2023 a few days ago. On the occasion of the award ceremony, a short film was made about her and her work in the laboratories in Lund that I think is well worth seeing. Watch it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=augwNV76x_4
A German version is also available.
Addendum on 03.10.2023: She also deservedly receives the Nobel Prize in Physics 2023.
Kerstin begins her Master's thesis
We warmly welcome Kerstin Harland (again) to our group. After having very successfully completed her bachelor thesis on sharp tungsten tips, she is now continuing her work in our group with her master thesis on the photoemission electron microscope. In terms of content, she is building on the experience gained in her bachelor's thesis by continuing to work on strong, ultrafast fields on nanostructures. We wish her every success and a good start!
Review article in the Bunsen Magazine
We were invited to contribute an article to the current issue of the Bunsen Magazine. This deals with the topic of attosecond spectroscopy in the field of physical chemistry. We took the opportunity to give a relatively general introduction to the field and then address the specific hurdles in applying it to nanoscale solids. If interested, the article can be accessed at the following link (open access). Side note: The article has not been externally peer-reviewed, but does not represent current research findings.
https://bunsen.de/bmo/attosekunden-spektroskopie-von-atomen-zu-nanoskaligen-festkoerpern
We made it onto the cover of the issue with the 3-step model of High Harmonic Generation. :)
PEEM ready for operation!
The time has (finally) come, our photoemission electron microscope (PEEM) is ready for use and was put into operation yesterday and today by the manufacturer together with us. There were no surprises, all our special requests and own modifications worked without any problems. We only had to make some spontaneous adjustments to the laser light, but this was done quickly. So we were not only able to test the (classical) imaging part, but also the time-of-flight option, which will provide us with spectral information about the electrons in addition to the spatially high-resolution images. We are looking forward to using the microscope as our group's main instrument.
Congratulations, Caro!
We warmly congratulate Carolin Bauer on her very successful completion of her bachelor's thesis with us in the working group. In her thesis, she dealt with the first-time implementation of the d-scan method at the University of Oldenburg, which is used to characterise short laser pulses. This method is now routinely used in one of the short pulse labs. Unfortunately, Caro is drawn even further north than before, so she will soon call Scandinavia home. We wish her continued success!
Prize of the Faculty V to Kerstin
We would like to congratulate Kerstin on receiving the award of the Faculty V for her final thesis in the subject Bachelor Physics, which she did in our group. The award is given annually and only one person with a freshly acquired degree (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate) at the Institute of Physics is honoured. The award ceremony took place today during the faculty's graduation ceremony in building A14.
Two open PhD positions
We currently have two doctoral positions available. Feel free to contact us in advance without obligation if you would like to find out more details or get to know people or the lab better. We look forward to receiving your applications.
New group member: Niels
We warmly welcome Niels Cordes to our small group. He will be doing his bachelor's thesis with us in the next few months and will be responsible for part of the laser setup for generating attosecond pulses. Good luck!
Congratulations, Kerstin!
Now Kerstin has achieved her Bachelor's degree, congratulations! The title of her thesis is "Optical strong-field electron emission from atomically resolved tungsten tips". In it, she worked on a number of different methods to finally combine short laser pulses with atomic spatial resolution. We wish her all the best for the future!
Here we go!
Our laser was not only delivered, but also installed today! Many thanks to Mr. Quint from Topag, who was able to speed up the shipment at Light Conversion by a few more days. Now we have to learn how to handle the 80W of average power.
Laser delivery
Our laser was delivered today! On time as announced, we are very happy about the reliability of the manufacturer Light Conversion. Now we have to keep our fingers crossed that the laser shows itself from an equally reliable side during commissioning and operation over the next years.
New group member: Katrin
We welcome the first PhD student in the junior research group Attosecond Microscopy: Katrin Meier has her first working day at the University of Oldenburg tomorrow. We are very pleased that Katrin will be working on her research project on ultrafast electron microscopy in our group from now on. She already has extensive experience with ultrashort laser pulses and will initially work with Arvid to advance the construction of our laser system. Good luck and a good start!
2022
The first degree
We warmly congratulate Ansgar on his recently passed bachelor thesis in our group, especially since it is the first degree with us. Not only his written work, but also his presentation at the beginning of December convinced the examiners. Congratulations and good luck in the further course of your studies!
Core hole drilled!
Today we got a core hole drilled between the lab and the adjacent maintenance shaft. We will use this to move cooling units and vacuum pumps out of the lab to improve thermal stability in the lab. Nice side effect: it will be quieter!
Welcome, Julia!
Welcome to the Atto group, Julia!
Julia will be working on the compression and characterisation of ultrashort laser pulses in the wavelength range of 2µm as part of her bachelor thesis. We would like to use these together with our photoemission electron microscope to investigate ultrafast processes on the nanoscale.
First picture of the PEEM
There is a first picture of our new photoemission electron microscope. Unfortunately, this is not yet a picture taken by the microscope itself, but a photo of the microscope showing the progress of its construction at the manufacturer. Externally, it is already finished, but there are still last details to be optimised inside. We are looking forward to seeing it delivered soon.
Caro in Lund
Caro used the semester break to make a small round trip through Europe. Since she also happened to pass by the southern end of Sweden, she was able to take the opportunity for a short visit to the MHz laboratory of Anne L'Huillier's group. In Lund, the d-scan method for measuring short laser pulses was developed, which fits ideally with Caro's bachelor thesis with us. In general, also after Jan's departure from Lund, we continue to exchange information with the Lund group, and there is also the possibility of visits there with the aim of making measurements.
The foundation
Just like a house, an optical construction also needs a foundation. In this case, however, the foundation is not poured on site, but comes from the factory in France: Our optical table has arrived! Due to the excellent preparation by Raimond and the mechanics workshop as well as the active support by the many members of the AG UNO, the table was quickly in the laboratory. So it is ready to become the basis for lasers, optical setups and vacuum chambers in the near future. Thanks to all for the great support!
Welcome, Arvid!
We continue to grow, Arvid will soon be actively supporting us as part of his Master's thesis! There are many possibilities, from laser setup with attosecond pulse generation to ultrafast electron microscopy. Which one he will choose for his work in the end, we will see in the next few months. First of all, welcome!
Delivery of the electron microscope earlier than expected
Even though major projects are usually characterised by delivery delays and cost increases, our PEEM is preparing to be completed earlier than expected. Focus company is confident that we will be able to carry out the two-day acceptance of the complete unit in Hünstetten as early as the second half of October. Afterwards, we can take it directly to Oldenburg (or, better, have it sent insured by parcel/pallet) and put it into operation here. This is a unique opportunity to receive direct training from the manufacturer and then use the microscope in our laboratory. Please contact us if you are interested.
The optical table will be delivered at the end of August, so that all the new purchases can no longer pile up in the offices but in the lab. Does anyone feel like setting up a camera (Raspberry Pi?) to document the setup with regular photos in the weeks that follow? :)
Laser and PEEM on the way
Our new laser (Light Conversion Carbide, 80 W, 250 fs) has now been ordered and is being manufactured in Lithuania. Delivery is scheduled for the turn of the year. Before that, we will probably receive a "demo laser", which will allow us to start earlier already in October.
In parallel, the order and delivery of the electron microscope (PEEM) is also well on its way. It is already finished "in principle", but still needs the usual test programme and its own electronics unit. In addition, the second detector (delay line detector) still has to be integrated. A partial delivery in October is planned so that we can start on time with the beginning of the winter semester.
Furthermore, all kinds of other components have now been ordered or are in the ordering process, so that many new components are waiting to be used in the autumn. Interested? Feel free to contact us!
Welcome Caro!
Today Carolin Bauer starts her bachelor thesis with us in the group. She is already the third person who has found her way to us in just a few months, which we are very happy about. A warm welcome!
Caro is working on the characterisation of ultrashort laser pulses with the "Dispersion Scan" method and will compare the results with other measurement methods. This work is being done in collaboration with the Ultra and UNO WGs, whose laser systems we will be taking a particularly close look at here.
Fresh jobs and projects
There is currently new information on advertised projects on the "Open Positions" subpage. Feel free to check it out!
Start of two Bachelor theses
After minor delays due to Corona, Kerstin and Ansgar started their bachelor theses in the Attosecond Microscopy Junior Research Group today. A warm welcome!
Kerstin is working on building an electron microscope with high spatiotemporal resolution to directly visualise optical fields around nanostructures. Ansgar is working on increasing the output power of a laser system and its characterisation to enable new experiments in the field of light-matter interaction.
Wolf price awarded to Anne L'Huillier!
Congratulations to Anne L'Huillier at Lund University on receiving this year's Wolf Prize in Physics together with Paul Corkum and Ferenc Krausz. She and her colleagues receive the award for their groundbreaking work in the field of ultrafast and attosecond physics.
Here you can find the announcement on the Lund University website.
2021
Electron microscope and laser
The tenders for the photoemission electron microscope and the pump laser are well underway, and the invitations to submit quotations were recently sent to the successful companies in the first round. Unfortunately, there will be no delivery for Christmas (this year).
Merry Christmas!
Vacancies
Two positions for doctoral candidates in our junior research group are currently being advertised. Take the opportunity and apply! Many topics are combined in our group. You can learn a lot, a broad prior knowledge is not necessary. However, a large portion of curiosity is desirable.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Interview with "photonworld"
An interview with us was published on the website "photonworld". The occasion is the approval of the Emmy Noether junior research group in Oldenburg. The website is generally concerned with the topic of light and the transfer of knowledge, especially to schoolchildren. It accompanies the PhotonLab at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching and is closely linked to Prof. Dr. Ferenc Krausz's group there.
Press release of the university
The University Press Office has prepared a press release on the launch of this junior research group and published it today. Many thanks in particular to Sonja Niemann for writing the release and Markus Hibbeler for the photos. Thanks also for the effort it took to find your way around both in Wechloy and in the field of Physics. Hopefully there will be another opportunity for collaboration soon.
Lab Tour / Photos
After an appointment with the press office on Monday to take photos for a press release, today it was time to visit labs 5 and 6 (UNO/ULTRA, UNO) with our own camera. Some pictures have now ended up in the "Research" submenu for illustration purposes.
It takes shape
A month has passed far too quickly, I was in Lund for just under two weeks before the lecture period began. Since then, a few things have been set in motion. The specifications for the large-scale equipment are now at the DFG and will hopefully soon be published in the form of a call for tenders. In addition, there is now this website and, indispensable in everyday university life, this junior research group now has a financial and cost centre for the Emmy Noether Project. This would allow us to spend money, which would mean the official start of the project. But at best, this should not happen with a package of disposable gloves, size M, in the laboratory supply store. There should be a better opportunity...
Funding commitment
Today, we received written confirmation of acceptance into the DFG's Emmy Noether Programme, thus laying the foundation for this working group. Many thanks to all the supporters in Oldenburg and Lund, without you this probably wouldn't have worked. Thanks also to the reviewers and the Emmy Noether Panel of the DFG for the positive reviews. Now we have to live up to expectations and use the funding in a targeted way. Let's go!
