Coherent folded acoustic phonons in a multilayered GaSb/InAs epitaxial heterostructure were generated by femtosecond laser pulses and studied by means of ultrafast x-ray diffraction. Coherent phonons excited simultaneously in the fundamental acoustic branch and the first back-folded branch were detected. This represents the first clear evidence for phonon branch folding based directly on the atomic motion to which x-ray diffraction is sensitive. From a comparison of the measured phonon-modulated x-ray reflectivity with simulations, evidence was found for a reduction of the laser penetration depth. This reduction can be explained by the self-modulation of the refractive index due to photogenerated free carriers.

We have used time-resolved X-ray diffraction to monitor the resolidification process of molten InSb. Melting was induced by an ultra-short laser pulse and the measurement conducted in a high-repetition-rate multishot experiment. The method gives direct information about the nature of the transient regrowth and permanently damaged layers. It does not rely on models based on surface reflectivity or second harmonic generation (SHG). The measured resolidification process has been modeled with a 1-D thermodynamic heat-conduction model. Important parameters like sample temperature, melting depth and amorphous surface layer thickness come directly out of the data, while mosaicity of the sample and free carrier density can be quantified by comparing with models. Melt depths up to 80 nm have been observed and regrowth velocities in the range 2–8 m/s have been measured.

Atomic processes like e.g. molecular vibrations, chemical reactions or phase transitions happen on picosecond down to femtosecond time scales. Novel pulsed X-ray sources or alternatively ultrafast X-ray detectors allow the investigation of these processes in real time. A powerful tool for the investigation of the dynamics in crystalline materials is Time Resolved X-ray Diffraction (TRXD). As an example the authors present the measurement of "phonon branch folding" in a GaSb/InAs superlattice by means of TRXD.In the second part we look forward to the near future of TRXD. X-ray scattering from coherent acoustic and optical phonons has recently become describable within the framework of dynamical diffraction theory. This theory provides the means for the detailed modelling of how various lattice dynamical processes manifest themselves in the diffracted X-ray signal. Simulations are presented showing the effects of coherent acoustic and optical phonons on the rocking curve of quartz (010).

We present an experimental study of hard x rays produced in laser-produced plasmas. The laser used is a 1 kHz system, delivering 0.7 mJ for 25 fs onto a solid target. The x-ray spectrum was measured with calibrated germanium detectors, allowing a very good estimate of the absolute number of photons emitted from the plasma over a wide energy range; from 7 keV to 0.5 MeV. Assuming a bi-Maxwellian electron distribution with temperatures of 4.5 and 63 keV, theoretical calculations support the experimental findings. The imaging characteristics of the x-ray source were investigated experimentally employing image plates and theoretically based on the electron distribution.

We have performed experiments where DKDP has been irradiated by short (100 fs), laser pulses. Subsequently X-ray pulses with a duration of 100 ps were used as a probe. Time-resolved X-ray diffraction enables monitoring of the transitions between the paraelectric and ferroelectric phases. By recording the intensity of a peak only present in the paraelectric phase, we observe indications of a phase-transition following laser-irradiation of DKDP in the ferroelectric phase. We have estimated the laser heating effect, by measuring the strain (peak shifts) in the diffraction patterns. Furthermore, the orientation of the ferroelectric domains has been observed. In spite of the fact that the temperature did not rise above the Curie temperature, following interaction with this radiation, the polarization of ferroelectric domains was modified. This indicates a mechanism where short pulses impulsively excite phonons, which enable either reversal of entire domains, the shift of domain walls and/or the broadening of the domain wall widths.

A method for time-resolved x-ray diffraction studies has been demonstrated. As a test case, coherent acoustic phonon propagation into crystalline InSb is observed using a laser plasma x-ray source. An extended x-ray topogram of the semiconductor’s surface was projected onto a high spatial resolution x-ray detector and acoustic phonons were excited by rapidly heating the crystal’s surface with a femtosecond laser pulse. A correlation between the spatial position on the x-ray detector and the time of arrival of the laser pulse was encoded into the experimental geometry by tilting the incident laser pulse with an optical grating. This approach enabled a temporal window of 200 ps to be sampled in a single topogram, thereby negating the disadvantages of pulse-to-pulse fluctuations in the intensity and spectrum of the laser-plasma source.

We report the observation of the predicted metastable 4p(3) S-4 state in the Ca- ion utilizing a spectroscopic technique based on nonlinear resonant multicolor absorption via an autodetaching state. The binding energy of the S-4 state is determined to be 586.86(10) meV with respect to the parent Ca(4p(2) P-3) state, a value less than 3 meV from the predicted one. The lifetime of the SS state is determined to be larger than 7 ps.