Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a very powerful imaging technique using the transmission of an electron beam through a thin sample to generate a 3D image at the atomic scale. Temporal resolution is provided by the use of short pulse laser such as the Satsuma, SatsumaX and Tangor. In most cases, the electron beam is then generated by the second (SHG) or third (THG) harmonic of these ultrastable and high repetition rate lasers.
Ultrafast structural dynamics with X-ray Diffraction
X-ray diffraction is a technique that provides information on the ultrafast dynamics of the structure of matter at the atomic scale. The sample is typically excited by a first ultrashort laser pulse in the Ultraviolet, Visible, Mid Infrared or even Terahertz, and probed by a X-ray Synchrotron or Free Electron beam, or alternatively a compact laser driven X-ray source, as presented in Secondary Sources – X-ray sources section.
When the pump and the probe are produced by two separate systems, the temporal scanning is done using electronic synchronization of the slave laser (usually the pump) with the master source (usually the probe). .
In the case of laser-based sources for pump and probe, the synchronization is inherently ultraprecise, and the scanning is achieved with a simple variable optical delay line with femtosecond precision. Amplitude proposes a broad range of solutions for the optical pump and X-ray probe and their temporal scanning : OPCPA sources pumped by Ytterbium lasers, laser drivers for laser-driven X-ray sources, photocathode lasers for FEL/synchrotron for accelerator-based X-ray sources. In each case, electronic synchronization is a key technology to ensure temporal scanning.
