A. Ruffing

Self-amplified photo-induced gap quenching in a correlated electron material

Capturing the dynamic electronic band structure of a correlated material presents a powerful capability for uncovering the complex couplings between the electronic and structural degrees of freedom. When combined with ultrafast laser excitation, new phases of matter can result, since far-from-equilibrium excited states are instantaneously populated. Here, we elucidate a general relation between ultrafast non-equilibrium electron dynamics and the size of the characteristic energy gap in a correlated electron material. We show that carrier multiplication via impact ionization can be one of the most important processes in a gapped material, and that the speed of carrier multiplication critically depends on the size of the energy gap. In the case of the charge-density wave material 1T-TiSe2, our data indicate that carrier multiplication and gap dynamics mutually amplify each other, which explains—on a microscopic level—the extremely fast response of this material to ultrafast optical excitation.

Time and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy using femtosecond visible and high-harmonic light

The angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) has emerged as a leading technique in identifying static key properties of complex systems such as the electronic band structure of adsorbed molecules, ultrathin quantum-well films or high temperature superconductors. We efficiently combined ARPES by using a two-dimensional analyzer for parallel energy (E) and momentum (k||) detection with femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopies. Using time and angle resolved two photon photoemission (2PPE) with visible light pulses, the hot electron dynamics in complex electronic structures are directly accessible by means of angle resolved hot electron lifetime mapping. Furthermore, femtosecond ARPES spectra recorded with high harmonic generation (HHG) light pulses are presented, showing the potential of this technique for future investigations of surface dynamics and photo-induced phase transition processes.

Evaporation temperature-tuned physical vapor deposition growth engineering of one-dimensional non-Fermi liquid tetrathiofulvalene tetracyanoquinodimethane thin films

We describe the growth of high quality tetrathiofulvalene tetracyanoquinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ) organic charge-transfer thin films which show a clear non-Fermi liquid behavior. Temperature dependent angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and electronic structure calculations show that the growth of TTF-TCNQ films is accompanied by the unfavorable presence of neutral TTF and TCNQ molecules. The quality of the films can be controlled by tuning the evaporation temperature of the precursor in physical vapor deposition method.

Electron Lifetimes in a 2D Electron-Gas with Rashba SO-Coupling: Screening Properties

We calculate lifetimes due to electron-electron scattering in a 2D Rashba band structure and study the influence of the substrate screening. A comparison with measurements on the quantum-well system Bi/Cu(111) is presented.