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This dataset is raw streak camera images for nanowire, PL spectra, python code for fitting.

This data set presents the optical pump-probe traces of Fe3Sn2 as function of temperature and excitation fluence. It also shows initial data analysis with exponential fits, relaxation times and FFT calculations.

Thin films of magnetoelectric antiferromagnetic insulators (Cr2O3, BiFeO3 etc.) have emerged as a prospective material platform for magnonics, spin superfluidity, THz spintronics, and energy efficient spin-orbitronics. Understanding the magnetomechanical coupling in antiferromagnets offers vast advantages in the control of the primary order parameters. A standard micromagnetic approach for the description of a material relies on the effective parameters being homogeneously distributed throughout the system. Such an approach is commonly sufficient, but does not provide full characterization of the system. The family of magnetomechanical effects includes piezo- and flexomagnetic responses, which determine the modification of the magnetic order parameters due to homogeneous or inhomogeneous strain, respectively. Accounting for the flexomagnetic effects promises technological advantages for multiferroic and antiferromagnetic materials, where cross-coupling between elastic, magnetic and electric subsystems open additional degrees of freedom in the control of the respective order parameters [1, 2]. In this work, we discover the effect of strain gradient onto the magnetic behaviour of epitaxial Cr2O3 thin films [3, 4]. We demonstrate that by tuning the parameters of Cr2O3 epitaxial growth a fine control of the crystallographic and defect structure can be realized. A persistent strain gradient was obtained in Cr2O3 affecting its magnetic order parameters rendering a distribution of the Néel temperature along the thickness of the thin film. The antiferromagnetic ordering in the strained films can persist up to 100°C, rendering Cr2O3 as a prospective material for industrial electronics applications. The inhomogeneous enhancement of the antiferromagnetic order parameter induced by the strain gradient renders a flexomagnetic response of about 15 µB nm-2. Strain gradient in Cr2O3 thin films enables fundamental research on magnetomechanics and thermodynamics of antiferromagnetic

We utilize pump-probe spectroscopy to measure the quasiparticle relaxation dynamics of BaFe2As2 in a diamond anvil cell at pressures up to 4.4 GPa and temperatures down to 8 K. Tracing the amplitude of the relaxation process results in an electronic phase diagram that illustrates the variation of the spin-density wave (SDW) order across the whole range of the applied pressures and temperatures. We observe a slowing down of the SDW relaxation dynamics in the vicinity of the phase transition boundary. However, its character depends on the trajectory in the phase diagram: the slowing down occurs gradually for the pressure-induced transition at low temperatures and abruptly for the thermally-driven transition. Our results suggest that the pressure-induced quantum phase transition in BaFe2As2 is related to the gradual worsening of the Fermi-surface nesting conditions.

Thin films of antiferromagnetic insulators (Cr2O3, Fe2O3, NiO etc.) are a prospective material platform for magnonics, spin superfluidity, THz spintronics, and non-volatile data storage. A standard micromagnetic approach for the description of thin film system commonly relies on the effective parameters, assumed to be homogeneously distributed within a material. The family of magnetomechanical effects includes piezo- and flexomagnetic responses, which determine the modification of the magnetic order parameters due to homogeneous or inhomogeneous strain, respectively. Accounting for the strain-gradient-driven magnetomechanical coupling promises technological advantages: the cross-coupling between elastic, magnetic and electric subsystems opens additional degrees of freedom in the control of the respective order parameters [1]-[3]. In this work, we discover the presence of flexomagnetic effects in epitaxial antiferromagnetic Cr2O3 thin films [4]. We demonstrate that a gradient of mechanical strain affect the order-disorder magnetic phase transition resulting in the distribution of the Néel temperature along the thickness of Cr2O3 thin film. The inhomogeneous reduction of the antiferromagnetic order parameter induces a flexomagnetic coefficient of about 15 µB nm-2. The antiferromagnetic ordering in the strained films can persist up to 100 °C, rendering Cr2O3 as a prospective material for industrial spintronic applications. Strain gradient in Cr2O3 thin films enables fundamental research on magnetomechanics and thermodynamics of antiferromagnetic solitons, spin waves and artificial spin ice systems in magnetic materials with continuously graded parameters.

Thin films of antiferromagnetic insulators are a prospective material platform for magnonics, spin superfluidity, THz spintronics, and nonvolatile data storage. Here, we explore the presence of flexomagnetic effects in epitaxial Cr2O3 [1]. We demonstrate that a gradient of mechanical strain effect the order-disorder magnetic phase transition, resulting in the distribution of the Néel temperature along the thickness of a Cr2O3 film. The inhomogeneous reduction of the antiferromagnetic order parameter induces a flexomagnetic coefficient of about 15µB nm−2. The antiferromagnetic ordering in the strained films can persist up to 100∘C, rendering Cr2O3 as a prospective material for industrial electronics applications.

Thin films of antiferromagnetic insulators (Cr2O3, NiO etc.) are a prospective material platform for magnonics, spin superfluidity, THz spintronics, and non-volatile data storage. A standard micromagnetic approach for the description of such thin films relies on the effective parameters being homogeneously distributed along the film thickness. The family of magnetomechanical effects includes piezo- and flexomagnetic responses, which determine the modification of the magnetic order parameters due to homogeneous or inhomogeneous strain, respectively. Accounting for the magnetomechanical coupling promises technological advantages: the cross-coupling between elastic, magnetic and electric subsystems opens additional degrees of freedom in the control of the respective order parameters [1, 2, 3]. In this work, we discover the presence of flexomagnetic effects in epitaxial Cr2O3[4]. We demonstrate that a gradient of mechanical strain affect the order-disorder magnetic phase transition resulting in the distribution of the Neel temperature along the thickness of a Cr2O3 film. The inhomogeneous reduction of the antiferromagnetic order parameter induces a flexomagnetic coefficient of about 15 µB nm-2. The antiferromagnetic ordering in the strained films can persist up to 100°C, rendering Cr2O3 as a prospective material for industrial electronics applications. Strain gradient in Cr2O3 thin films enables fundamental research on magnetomechanics and thermodynamics of antiferromagnetic solitons, spin waves and artificial spin ice systems in magnetic materials with continuously graded parameters.

Antiferromagnetic ordering, being prevalent over ferromagnetic one in nature, is very sensitive to the lattice structure. For example, in the absence of magnetostatics, the stress fields can be responsible for the domain formation in easy-plane antiferromagnets, while the hydrostatic pressure provides a possibility to manipulate the phase transition temperature between magnetically ordered and disordered phases [1]. Phenomena related to the strain gradient being allowed in the majority of magnetic symmetry classes are much less explored [2].Here, we provide a theoretical and experimental evidence of flexomagnetism in the uniaxial room-temperature antiferromagnet Cr2O3 [3]. In the experiment, high-quality Cr2O3 thin films grown on sapphire substrate are considered. Their magnetic state is accessed by a combination of magnetotransport measurements and Nitrogen vacancy (NV) magnetometry, which allows one to address both the uncompensated magnetization at the film surface and the interior of the film. We found a gradual transition from antiferro- to paramagnetic state by thickness with heating, which is substantially enhanced in comparison with bulk Cr2O3. To explain this observation, we provide a systematic analysis of sources of magnetization and symmetry analysis regarding the presence of a sizeable strain gradient along the film thickness. The latter enables (i) the net uniform bulk magnetization along the film thickness, which cannot be directly detected by NV magnetometry, and (ii) distribution of the Neel temperature along the film thickness. The gradual change of the magnetic phase transition temperature along the sample breaks the compensation of antiferromagnetic sublattices. The respective magnetization is proportional to the Neel vector and changes its direction betwen antiferromagnetic domains contributing to the stray fields and being detectable by NV magnetometry. We provide a theoretical description of this strain-gradient-driven effects in thin Cr2O3 fi

Population inversion and optical gain are often difficult to measure in systems that do not exhibit lasing. For example, two-color pump-probe experiments targeting gain require precise reference measurements in order to distinguish gain from simple absorption bleaching due to Pauli blocking. In the mid-infrared (MIR) and far-infrared (FIR) spectral range such experiments are even more difficult as free-carrier absorption complicates the analysis. Here we utilize a three-pulse technique [1], which has been employed to find evidence for gain and spectral hole burning in the near-infrared (NIR), to study the dynamics of the MIR population inversion in optically pumped intrinsic graphene. Graphene is an interesting material to apply this technique since there are on one hand many reports on ultrafast thermalization, excluding inversion, but on the other hand many suggestions to realize gain, in particular in the THz range. The principle of the technique is sketched in Fig. 1a. A strong NIR “gain” pulse (photon energy 1.55 eV) excites interband transitions in an epitaxial multilayer graphene sample on SiC. The majority of graphene layers is almost intrinsic. The low-energy carrier dynamics is monitored by measuring the differential transmission change in a degenerate MIR (photon energy 250 meV) pump-probe experiment. This differential transmission generally is positive, corresponding to bleaching via Pauli blocking by carriers that are photoexcited by the MIR pump pulse. If, however, the gain pulse is strong enough to induce an inverted population at 250 meV, the situation is qualitatively different: Now the mid-infrared pulse causes stimulated emission from the inverted population, thus decreasing the number of carriers in the conduction band at the probed energy. Consequently, the differential transmission with regard to the MIR pump pulse changes from positive to negative (cf. Fig.1b) In addition to the NIR fluence dependence shown in Fig. 1b we also present for the g

The Kagome lattice is a two-dimensional network of corner-sharing triangles that is known to combine linear bands hosting massless Dirac fermions and dispersionless flat bands featuring massive localized electrons, both arising due to its geometry. FeSn binary compounds and the RM$_6$Sn$_6$(R=Tb,Gd and Y) series are commonly studied magnetic Kagome metals, which possess different magnetic ground states and interlayer Kagome coupling. Several steady-state experimental techniques have been used to study the magnetic and electronic structure of these materials and the effects of magnetism on the band structure. However, the ultrafast dynamics and the interplay of these unusual features have not yet been widely explored in the scope of time-domain spectroscopy. Here we present temperature- and fluence-dependent carrier dynamics of various magnetic Kagome metals studied using the optical pump-probe technique. Distinct carrier relaxations have been observed, and they can be partially attributed to the simple two-temperature model, as these are highly metallic compounds.

The free-electron laser (FEL) is an ideal source of high-power coherent THz radiation for many applications. The FEL provides continuously tunable THz radiation, typically in ultrashort transform limited pulses with very high peak power. One limitation though is that the carrier envelope phase (CEP) of the FEL pulses is not fixed, making measurements of coherent THz-driven processes extremely difficult, if not impossible. We present here, a novel technique that enables shot-to-shot measurement of the CEP of every FEL pulse up to very high repetition rates. This powerful technique enables phase-resolved measurements of the FEL pulses, which opens the door for the study of coherent THz-driven phenomena as well as the advanced FEL diagnostics needed in the pursuit of CEP stable operation of an FEL.

In this study, we present optical pump-probe measurements on a magnetic kagome metal, Fe3Sn2, under different temperatures down to 10 K. The obtained spectra can be fitted with a double exponential decay, indicating that the system has two distinct relaxation processes. Additionally, some unexpected and pronounced oscillations are dominating the spectra, giving evidence of a strong electron-phonon coupling in Fe3Sn2, at least in this ultra-fast regime. The frequency of this coupled phonon is determined to be around 2.5 THz. Finally, we will discuss the temperature and pump fluence dependence of the observed phonon coupling and the distinct relaxation dynamics in this material.

The Kagome lattice is a two-dimensional network of corner-sharing triangles that is known to combine linear bands hosting massless Dirac fermions and dispersionless flat bands featuring massive localized electrons, both arising due to its geometry. FeSn binary compounds and the RM$_6$Sn$_6$(R=Tb,Gd and Y) series are commonly studied magnetic Kagome metals, which possess different magnetic ground states and interlayer Kagome coupling. Several steady-state experimental techniques have been used to study the magnetic and electronic structure of these materials and the effects of magnetism on the band structure. However, the ultrafast dynamics and the interplay of these unusual features have not yet been widely explored in the scope of time-domain spectroscopy. Here we present temperature- and fluence-dependent carrier dynamics of various magnetic Kagome metals studied using the optical pump-probe technique. Distinct carrier relaxations have been observed, and they can be partially attributed to the simple two-temperature model, as these are highly metallic compounds.

III-V semiconductor heterostructures have contributed to a wealth of studies in solid state physics, as well as to applied research and technology in electronics and photonics. More recently, the nanowire geometry introduced new possibilities, such as one-dimensional quantum transport, formation of Majorana modes, enhanced light-matter coupling, photon entanglement, as well as monolithic integration in Si-CMOS platforms for the realization of more-than-Moore hybrid systems. This talk will be focusing on the bottom-up fabrication and the structural and electronic properties of III-As nanowire heterostructures. The first type of heterostructures will be radial ones, comprising a GaAs core and a lattice-mismatched InxAl1-xAs or InxGa1-xAs shell. Molecular beam epitaxy and a combination of vapor-liquid-solid and vapor-solid growth modes are employed to grow free-standing nanowires on Si substrates [1, 2]. Owing to its high surface-to-volume ratio and the peculiar geometry, the thin core can be hydrostatically tensile strained to extremely high levels, depending on the In content x and the thickness of the shell. As a welcome effect, the bandgap of GaAs can be tuned to be anywhere between the strain-free value of 1.4 and 0.8 eV, allowing for potential applications in telecom photonics [3]. Furthermore, the electron mobility in the GaAs core is increased with increasing the tensile strain, as a result of a corresponding decrease in electron effective mass [4]. This is of major importance for the realization of transistors with high speed and low-power consumption. The second type of heterostructures will be axial ones, where the composition is modulated from GaAs to AlxGa1-x¬As and back to GaAs along the nanowire axis. Here, we develop a pulsed-growth technique [5], which grants precise control over the axial growth rate and droplet composition. Using advanced transmission electron microscopy methods and a thermodynamic equilibrium model, it becomes possible to quantitati

Strain engineering is a powerful tool for designing nanowires with tailored properties for a variety of applications. By carefully controlling the built-in strain in nanowires, it is possible to tune their bandgap to the near-infrared region, making them ideal for applications in telecommunication and imaging. In our previous work, we demonstrated that in GaAs/In x Al 1-x As core/shell nanowires, the bandgap of the core can be narrowed by up to 40%, for x up to 0.54, via strain due to the lattice mismatch between the shell [1]. Here, we explored the upper end of the lattice mismatch regime, extending the same concept to the contents of the shell towards x = 1, achieving unusually high strain values. The strain in the core and its effect on band structure are studied by a combination of spectroscopic methods and high-resolution transmission and scanning-transmission electron microscopy (HR(S)TEM). Raman spectroscopy showed that the tensile strain in the GaAs core increased linearly with increasing the In content in the shell (Fig. 1a), following the trend we reported in the past for lower values of x [1]. This behavior suggests the absence of plastic relaxation despite the very large lattice mismatch between the core and the shell. Using cross-sectional and longitudinal HR(S)TEM observations, we assessed the strain distribution normal and along the nanowire axis (Figs. 1b to 1d), which was found to be in good agreement with finite element and molecular dynamics simulations. Above a critical x value, plastic relaxation sets in via dislocations (Fig. 1b). We also correlated the photoluminescence emission properties with the strain distribution in the core and the shell, and the corresponding band alignment via band structure simulations. All in all, our results identified the limits of a coherent core and shell heterostructures and the potential application of tensile-strained GaAs nanowires for C- and O-band telecom photonics.

The coherent infrared and THz sources driven by the superconducting electron accelerator ELBE are described. The present status of the facility is summarized and a few scientific highlights are mentioned. Finally plans for a successor facility (Dresden Advanced Light Infrastructure, DALI) are outlined along with the most important scientific and technological challenges.

We study THz-driven condensate dynamics in epitaxial thin films of MgB2, a prototype two-band superconductor (SC) with weak interband coupling. The temperature and excitation density dependent dynamics follow the behavior predicted by the phenomenological bottleneck model for the single-gap SC, implying adiabatic coupling between the two condensates on the ps timescale. The amplitude of the THz-driven suppression of condensate density reveals an unexpected decrease in pair-breaking efficiency with increasing temperature—unlike in the case of optical excitation. The reduced pair-breaking efficiency of narrow-band THz pulses, displaying minimum near ≈0.7 Tc, is attributed to THz-driven, long-lived, nonthermal quasiparticle distribution, resulting in Eliashberg-type enhancement of superconductivity, competing with pair breaking.

BaFe2As2 is the parent compound for a family of iron-based high-temperature superconductors as well as a prototypical example of the spin-density wave (SDW) system. In this study, we perform an optical pump-probe study of this compound to systematically investigate the SDW order across the pressure-temperature phase diagram. The suppression of the SDW order by pressure manifests itself by the increase of relaxation time together with the decrease of the pump-probe signal and the pump energy necessary for complete vaporization of the SDW condensate. We have found that the pressure-driven suppression of the SDW order at low temperature occurs gradually in contrast to the thermally-induced SDW transition. Our results suggest that the pressure-driven quantum phase transition in BaFe2As2 (and probably other iron pnictides) is continuous and it is caused by the gradual worsening of the Fermi-surface nesting conditions.

We utilize pump-probe spectroscopy to measure the quasiparticle relaxation dynamics of BaFe2As2 in a diamond anvil cell at pressures up to 4.4 GPa and temperatures down to 8 K. Tracing the amplitude of the relaxation process results in an electronic phase diagram that illustrates the variation of the spin-density wave (SDW) order across the whole range of the applied pressures and temperatures. We observe a slowing down of the SDW relaxation dynamics in the vicinity of the phase transition boundary. However, its character depends on the trajectory in the phase diagram: the slowing down occurs gradually for the pressure-induced transition at low temperatures and abruptly for the thermally-driven transition. Our results suggest that the pressure-induced quantum phase transition in BaFe2As2 is related to the gradual worsening of the Fermi-surface nesting conditions.

We present two types of pump-probe spectroscopy on single core-shell III-V nanowires: while the pump is either interband or intraband, a broad-band mid-infrared beam is used as probe. This provides interesting insight into carrier heating and relaxation.

Intense narrowband terahertz pulses from the FELBE free-electron laser facility and a complementary table-top high-field THz source are utilized to study nonlinear excitation regimes in semiconductors. In this talk we present several recent examples including impurities transitions in boron doped Si, HgTe topological quantum wells and plasmons in individual InGaAs nanowires.

Thin films of antiferromagnetic insulators (Cr2O3, Fe2O3, NiO etc.) are a prospective material platform for magnonics, spin superfluidity, THz spintronics, and non-volatile data storage. A standard micromagnetic approach for the description of thin film system commonly relies on the effective parameters, assumed to be homogeneously distributed within a material. The family of magnetomechanical effects includes piezo- and flexomagnetic responses, which determine the modification of the magnetic order parameters due to homogeneous or inhomogeneous strain, respectively. Accounting for the strain-gradient-driven magnetomechanical coupling promises technological advantages: the cross-coupling between elastic, magnetic and electric subsystems opens additional degrees of freedom in the control of the respective order parameters [1]-[3]. In this work, we discover the presence of flexomagnetic effects in epitaxial antiferromagnetic Cr2O3 thin films [4]. We demonstrate that a gradient of mechanical strain affect the order-disorder magnetic phase transition resulting in the distribution of the Néel temperature along the thickness of Cr2O3 thin film. The inhomogeneous reduction of the antiferromagnetic order parameter induces a flexomagnetic coefficient of about 15 µB nm-2. The antiferromagnetic ordering in the strained films can persist up to 100 °C, rendering Cr2O3 as a prospective material for industrial spintronic applications. Strain gradient in Cr2O3 thin films enables fundamental research on magnetomechanics and thermodynamics of antiferromagnetic solitons, spin waves and artificial spin ice systems in magnetic materials with continuously graded parameters.

Thin films of antiferromagnetic insulators (Cr2O3, NiO etc.) are a prospective material platform for magnonics, spin superfluidity, THz spintronics, and non-volatile data storage. A standard micromagnetic approach for the description of such thin films relies on the effective parameters being homogeneously distributed along the film thickness. The family of magnetomechanical effects includes piezo- and flexomagnetic responses, which determine the modification of the magnetic order parameters due to homogeneous or inhomogeneous strain, respectively. Accounting for the magnetomechanical coupling promises technological advantages: the cross-coupling between elastic, magnetic and electric subsystems opens additional degrees of freedom in the control of the respective order parameters [1, 2, 3]. In this work, we discover the presence of flexomagnetic effects in epitaxial Cr2O3[4]. We demonstrate that a gradient of mechanical strain affect the order-disorder magnetic phase transition resulting in the distribution of the Neel temperature along the thickness of a Cr2O3 film. The inhomogeneous reduction of the antiferromagnetic order parameter induces a flexomagnetic coefficient of about 15 µB nm-2. The antiferromagnetic ordering in the strained films can persist up to 100°C, rendering Cr2O3 as a prospective material for industrial electronics applications. Strain gradient in Cr2O3 thin films enables fundamental research on magnetomechanics and thermodynamics of antiferromagnetic solitons, spin waves and artificial spin ice systems in magnetic materials with continuously graded parameters.

Thin films of magnetoelectric antiferromagnetic insulators (Cr2O3, BiFeO3 etc.) have emerged as a prospective material platform for magnonics, spin superfluidity, THz spintronics, and energy efficient spin-orbitronics. Understanding the magnetomechanical coupling in antiferromagnets offers vast advantages in the control of the primary order parameters. A standard micromagnetic approach for the description of a material relies on the effective parameters being homogeneously distributed throughout the system. Such an approach is commonly sufficient, but does not provide full characterization of the system. The family of magnetomechanical effects includes piezo- and flexomagnetic responses, which determine the modification of the magnetic order parameters due to homogeneous or inhomogeneous strain, respectively. Accounting for the flexomagnetic effects promises technological advantages for multiferroic and antiferromagnetic materials, where cross-coupling between elastic, magnetic and electric subsystems open additional degrees of freedom in the control of the respective order parameters [1, 2]. In this work, we discover the effect of strain gradient onto the magnetic behaviour of epitaxial Cr2O3 thin films [3, 4]. We demonstrate that by tuning the parameters of Cr2O3 epitaxial growth a fine control of the crystallographic and defect structure can be realized. A persistent strain gradient was obtained in Cr2O3 affecting its magnetic order parameters rendering a distribution of the Néel temperature along the thickness of the thin film. The antiferromagnetic ordering in the strained films can persist up to 100°C, rendering Cr2O3 as a prospective material for industrial electronics applications. The inhomogeneous enhancement of the antiferromagnetic order parameter induced by the strain gradient renders a flexomagnetic response of about 15 µB nm-2. Strain gradient in Cr2O3 thin films enables fundamental research on magnetomechanics and thermodynamics of antiferromagnetic

Thin films of antiferromagnetic insulators are a prospective material platform for magnonics, spin superfluidity, THz spintronics, and nonvolatile data storage. Here, we explore the presence of flexomagnetic effects in epitaxial Cr2O3 [1]. We demonstrate that a gradient of mechanical strain effect the order-disorder magnetic phase transition, resulting in the distribution of the Néel temperature along the thickness of a Cr2O3 film. The inhomogeneous reduction of the antiferromagnetic order parameter induces a flexomagnetic coefficient of about 15µB nm−2. The antiferromagnetic ordering in the strained films can persist up to 100∘C, rendering Cr2O3 as a prospective material for industrial electronics applications.

Antiferromagnetic ordering, being prevalent over ferromagnetic one in nature, is very sensitive to the lattice structure. For example, in the absence of magnetostatics, the stress fields can be responsible for the domain formation in easy-plane antiferromagnets, while the hydrostatic pressure provides a possibility to manipulate the phase transition temperature between magnetically ordered and disordered phases [1]. Phenomena related to the strain gradient being allowed in the majority of magnetic symmetry classes are much less explored [2].Here, we provide a theoretical and experimental evidence of flexomagnetism in the uniaxial room-temperature antiferromagnet Cr2O3 [3]. In the experiment, high-quality Cr2O3 thin films grown on sapphire substrate are considered. Their magnetic state is accessed by a combination of magnetotransport measurements and Nitrogen vacancy (NV) magnetometry, which allows one to address both the uncompensated magnetization at the film surface and the interior of the film. We found a gradual transition from antiferro- to paramagnetic state by thickness with heating, which is substantially enhanced in comparison with bulk Cr2O3. To explain this observation, we provide a systematic analysis of sources of magnetization and symmetry analysis regarding the presence of a sizeable strain gradient along the film thickness. The latter enables (i) the net uniform bulk magnetization along the film thickness, which cannot be directly detected by NV magnetometry, and (ii) distribution of the Neel temperature along the film thickness. The gradual change of the magnetic phase transition temperature along the sample breaks the compensation of antiferromagnetic sublattices. The respective magnetization is proportional to the Neel vector and changes its direction betwen antiferromagnetic domains contributing to the stray fields and being detectable by NV magnetometry. We provide a theoretical description of this strain-gradient-driven effects in thin Cr2O3 fi

Raw pump-probe data for two Ba-122 DAC fillings used in the paper, photos of the samples inside the DAC, Matlab script for constructing the p-T plot of the SDW order

streak camera data, meta data

High-quality epitaxial nanowires (NWs) based on III–V semiconductors such as (In)GaAs offer the possibility to fabricate ultrafast optical devices due to their direct bandgap and the high electron mobility. Contactless investigation of the average charge carrier concentration and mobility in NWs is enabled by terahertz time domain spectroscopy [1]. The determination of these properties locally on individual NWs can be carried out by scattering type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM), which provides spatial resolution far beyond the diffraction limit. In optical-pump THz-probe experiments the response of photoexcited carriers has been investigated with 10 nm and 10 fs spatial and temporal resolution [2]. Time-resolved studies are still missing in both far-field and near-field spectroscopy for doped nanowires excited by THz radiation via intraband excitation. Here we report on THz-pump MIR-probe s SNOM studies on highly-doped GaAs/InGaAs core-shell NWs utilizing intense narrowband THz radiation from the free-electron laser (FEL) FELBE. The samples under study are Si-doped GaAs-InGaAs core-shell NWs grown by molecular beam epitaxy. They consist of a 25-nm-thick GaAs core and an 80-nm-thick In0.44Ga0.56As shell that is homogeneously doped with Si at a concentration of 9 × 1018 cm-3. For s-SNOM studies, these NWs are transferred to a (100) Si substrate and dispersed randomly over the substrate. The experiment was carried out with an s-SNOM setup from Neaspec GmbH equipped with a broadband difference-frequency generation (DFG) source (5 – 15 µm; 20 – 60 THz). For the pump-probe measurements the laser oscillator of the DFG source was synchronized to the FEL and the time delay between the pulses was varied by an optical delay line. A low-pass filter suppresses the scattered THz FEL radiation from the nano-FTIR unit (Fig 1a). In the unpumped case, a sharp plasma edge around 130 meV is observed. Upon intraband pumping with 13THz FEL radiation (pulse duration 2 –

We demonstrate a broadband photoconductive THz emitter compatible with femtosecond fiber lasers operating at wavelengths of 1.1 and 1.55 m. The emitted 1.5-cycle transient covers the spectral range up to 70 THz.

In our study we employ a powerful method, namely a three-pulse pump-probe technique, that was first suggested by Kim et al.1, to explore the possibility to achieve transient gain photon energies below the optical phonon energy (∼ 200 meV) in graphene. Intriguingly, this technique is not widely established and to our knowledge has never been used in the mid- or far-infrared spectral range. The principle behind this method relies on the effect of a strong pre-pump pulse of 1.55 eV photons, which can cause a transient population inversion at lower energies. This population inversion is evidenced by a sign flip of the mid-infrared (86 meV photon energy) pump-probe signal that is related to either absorption or stimulated emission of mid-infrared photons of the pump beam. We present the results on multilayer graphene obtained under various experimental configurations. Our findings shed light into the completion of rapid thermalization via Coulomb scattering and carrier cooling via optical phonons. 1. Kim, K.; Urayama, J.; Norris, T.; Singh, J.; Phillips, J.; Bhattacharya, P. Appl. Phys. Lett., 2002, 81, 670-672.

Free carriers in doped semiconductors absorb terahertz radiation when the frequency of the electromagnetic field is lower or comparable to the plasma frequency of the system. This phenomenon can be used to manipulate the optical response of the material. We present here the results of two different experiments performed at the infrared free-electron laser FELBE on atomically-thin van der Waals semiconductors. In MoSe2 monolayers, we observe a terahertz-induced redshift of the trion resonance. Terahertz absorption induces an average high momentum to the carriers and this momentum gets transferred during the trion formation, resulting in a net redshift in the absorption. In few-layer InSe, the terahertz pulses induce a transient quenching of the photoluminescence emission. In both cases, a microscopic study of the hot carrier distribution cooling is also presented.

High harmonic generation (HHG) has applications in various fields, including ultrashort pulse measurements, material characterization and imaging microscopy. Strong THz nonlinearity and efficient third harmonic generation (THG) were demonstrated in graphene [1], therefore it is natural to assume the presence of the same effect in other Dirac materials, such as topological insulators (TI). Topological states can be found in HgTe quantum wells with a thickness of more than 6.3 nm [2], and strained 3D Hg1-xCdxTe thin films with cadmium fraction x < 0.16 [3]. We used a series of HgTe samples corresponding to three qualitatively different cases: 2D trivial and topological structures and 3D topological insulators. By using moderate THz fields, the presence of highly efficient THG was measured in these samples at different temperatures and THz powers. This provides insight into physical mechanisms leading to THG in TIs. For in-depth understanding of Dirac fermions dynamics and dominating scattering mechanisms in HgTe TI, we conducted THz pump-probe experiments that reveal several relaxation time scales. [1] Hafez, H. A. et al., Nature 561, 507 (2018). [2] Bernevig, B. et al. Science 314, 5806 (2006): 1757-1761. [3] Brüne, C., et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 12 (2011): 126803.

We utilize optical pump – THz probe spectroscopy to estimate electron mobility in strained GaAs/(In,Al)As core/shell nanowires. Our results demonstrate that strain-induced reduction of the effective electron mass leads to a remarkable increase of the mobility. The data analysis indicates an important role of the inhomogeneous plasmon broadening that may affect THz spectra of dense ensembles of nanowires.

High-quality epitaxial nanowires (NWs) based on III–V semiconductors such as (In)GaAs offer the possibility to fabricate ultrafast optical devices due to their direct bandgap and the high electron mobility. Contactless investigation of the charge carrier concentration and mobility in NWs is enabled by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy [1]. The determination of these properties locally on individual NWs can be carried out by scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM), which provides spatial resolution far beyond the diffraction limit. In optical-pump THz-probe experiments the response of photogenerated carriers has been investigated on the 10 nm and 10 fs scale [2]. Time-resolved studies are still missing in both far-field and near-field spectroscopy for doped nanowires excited by far-infrared (FIR) radiation via free-carrier absorption. Here we report on FIR-pump MIR-probe s-SNOM studies on highly-doped GaAs/InGaAs core-shell NWs utilizing intense narrowband FIR radiation from the free-electron laser (FEL) FELBE. The samples under study are Si-doped GaAs-InGaAs core-shell NWs grown by molecular beam epitaxy. They consist of a 25-nm-thick GaAs core and a 80-nm-thick In0.44Ga0.56As shell that is homogeneously doped with Si at a concentration of 9 × 1018 cm-3. For s-SNOM studies these NWs are transferred to a (100) Si substrate and dispersed randomly over the substrate. The experiment was carried out with the s-SNOM setup from Neaspec GmbH equipped with difference-frequency generation (DFG) source (5 – 15 µm; 83 – 248 meV). For the pump-probe measurements the laser oscillator of the DFG source was synchronized to FEL and the time delay between the pulses was varied by an optical delay line. A low-pass filter suppress the scattered FIR radiation from FELBE going into the nano-FTIR unit (Fig 1,a). In the unpumped case, a sharp plasma edge around 130 meV is observed. Upon below-bandgap pumping with 23 µm FEL radiation (pulse duration 2 – 5 ps, averag

High-quality epitaxial nanowires (NWs) based on III–V semiconductors such as (In)GaAs offer the possibility to fabricate ultrafast optical devices due to their direct bandgap and the high electron mobility. Contactless investigation of the average charge carrier concentration and mobility in NWs is enabled by terahertz time domain spectroscopy [1]. The determination of these properties locally on individual NWs can be carried out by scattering type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM), which provides spatial resolution far beyond the diffraction limit. In optical-pump THz-probe experiments the response of photoexcited carriers has been investigated with 10 nm and 10 fs spatial and temporal resolution [2]. Time-resolved studies are still missing in both far-field and near-field spectroscopy for doped nanowires excited by THz radiation via intraband excitation. Here we report on THz-pump MIR-probe s SNOM studies on highly-doped GaAs/InGaAs core-shell NWs utilizing intense narrowband THz radiation from the free-electron laser (FEL) FELBE. The samples under study are Si-doped GaAs-InGaAs core-shell NWs grown by molecular beam epitaxy. They consist of a 25-nm-thick GaAs core and an 80-nm-thick In0.44Ga0.56As shell that is homogeneously doped with Si at a concentration of 9 × 1018 cm-3. For s-SNOM studies, these NWs are transferred to a (100) Si substrate and dispersed randomly over the substrate. The experiment was carried out with an s-SNOM setup from Neaspec GmbH equipped with a broadband difference-frequency generation (DFG) source (5 – 15 µm; 20 – 60 THz). For the pump-probe measurements the laser oscillator of the DFG source was synchronized to the FEL and the time delay between the pulses was varied by an optical delay line. A low-pass filter suppresses the scattered THz FEL radiation from the nano-FTIR unit (Fig 1a). In the unpumped case, a sharp plasma edge around 130 meV is observed. Upon intraband pumping with 13THz FEL radiation (pulse duration 2 –

We utilize optical pump – THz probe spectroscopy to estimate electron mobility in strained GaAs/(In,Al)As core/shell nanowires. Our results demonstrate that strain-induced reduction of the effective electron mass leads to a remarkable increase of the mobility. The data analysis indicates an important role of the inhomogeneous plasmon broadening that may affect THz spectra of dense ensembles of nanowires.

High harmonic generation (HHG) has applications in various fields, including ultrashort pulse measurements, material characterization and imaging microscopy. Strong THz nonlinearity and efficient third harmonic generation (THG) were demonstrated in graphene [1], therefore it is natural to assume the presence of the same effect in other Dirac materials, such as topological insulators (TI). Topological states can be found in HgTe quantum wells with a thickness of more than 6.3 nm [2], and strained 3D Hg1-xCdxTe thin films with cadmium fraction x < 0.16 [3]. We used a series of HgTe samples corresponding to three qualitatively different cases: 2D trivial and topological structures and 3D topological insulators. By using moderate THz fields, the presence of highly efficient THG was measured in these samples at different temperatures and THz powers. This provides insight into physical mechanisms leading to THG in TIs. For in-depth understanding of Dirac fermions dynamics and dominating scattering mechanisms in HgTe TI, we conducted THz pump-probe experiments that reveal several relaxation time scales. [1] Hafez, H. A. et al., Nature 561, 507 (2018). [2] Bernevig, B. et al. Science 314, 5806 (2006): 1757-1761. [3] Brüne, C., et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 12 (2011): 126803.

Optical pump – THz probe spectroscopy has been established as a tool for contactless probing of electronic transport in semiconductor nanowires (NWs) [1]. Particularly in III-V NWs, scattering rates of charge carriers, as well as their plasmonic resonances for typical doping levels, are located in the THz range. The analysis of the optical conductivity spectra using the localized surface plasmon model provides an estimation of the carrier density and the mobility. Here, we employ THz spectroscopy to study electron mobility in the strained GaAs core of GaAs/InAlAs core/shell nanowires. Owing to the lattice mismatch between the core and the shell in these NWs, the bandgap energy in the strained GaAs core exhibits a reduction by up to 40% [2]. Our results demonstrate that this effect is accompanied by a notable increase in the electron mobility by 30-50% with respect to a bulk GaAs [3]. We discuss the role of various scattering mechanisms and their dependence on strain and temperature. In addition to the homogeneous plasmon broadening caused by the carrier scattering, we also observe an inhomogeneous broadening in dense ensembles of NWs as illustrated in Fig. 1(a). Our modelling demonstrates that such broadening stems from the plasmonic interaction between neighboring NWs leading to the shift of the plasmon frequency as shown in Fig. 1(b). This effect has to be considered in the analysis of THz response of NWs since it may result in a significant underestimation of the mobility values.

Intense narrowband terahertz pulses from the FELBE free-electron laser facility are utilized to study nonlinear excitation regimes of various degrees of freedom in semiconductors. In this talk we present several recent examples including plasmons in InGaAs nanowires, intersubband transitions in Ge/SiGe quantum wells, and impurity transitions in boron doped Si.

Core-shell nanowires (NWs) made of III-V semiconductors are promising nanostructures for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications. One of the advantages is the possibility to epitaxially grow the NWs on Si substrates despite the large lattice mismatch, since the Si-GaAs interface area is very small. Moreover, the large surface-to-volume ratio for the NWs’ core allows to impose a very large strain when the core is overgrown with a lattice-mismatched shell, without creating any misfit dislocations. In this way, the bandgap of the core semiconductor can be tuned in a broad range via strain engineering [1]. Pump-probe terahertz spectroscopy has been proven as a perfect tool for contactless probing of electrical properties of semiconductor NWs [2]. The analysis of the optical conductivity spectra using the localized surface plasmon model allows to estimate the carrier lifetime and the carrier mobility. Recently, using THz spectroscopy we have demonstrated that the mobility in highly strained GaAs NW cores can exceed the mobility in bulk GaAs by 30-50% [3]. We found out the particular importance of the geometrical factor that defines the rescaling of the localized surface plasmon frequency in NWs. Its dependence on the aspect ratio can be derived analytically in the approximation of the cylindrical NW shape [4]. However, for a dense ensemble of NWs, where some can form bundles or touch each other, the geometric factor may vary, leading to an inhomogeneous broadening of the plasmon resonances. We discuss the role of this effect and its impact on the estimation of carrier mobility. Finally, we demonstrate a THz nonlinearity of photodoped GaAs/In0.2Ga0.8As core-shell NWs using single-cycle intense THz pulses with peak electric fields up to 0.6 MV/cm. We found that with increasing the peak THz field, the plasmon frequency demonstrates a redshift accompanied by a suppression of the spectral weight. Remarkably, the spectral weight does not remain proportional to the square

Novel transistor concepts based on semiconductor nanowires promise high performance, lower energy consumption and better integrability in various platforms in nanoscale dimensions. Concerning the intrinsic transport properties of electrons in nanowires, relatively high mobility values that approach those in bulk crystals have been obtained only in core/shell heterostructures, where electrons are confined inside the core and, thus, their scattering on the nanowire surface is suppressed. Here, we demonstrate that the large strain in core/shell nanowires with significant lattice-mismatch between the core and the shell can affect the effective mass and the scattering of electrons in a way that boosts their mobility to higher levels compared to results obtained by any other means. Specifically, we use GaAs/InAlAs core/shell nanowires with a lattice mismatch in the range of 3%, grown on Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Overgrown with an 80-nm-thick shell, the 22-nm-thick core is hydrostatically tensile-strained as found by both Raman scattering and photoluminescence measurements [1, 2]. The transport properties and dynamics of electrons were probed at room temperature by optical-pump THz-probe spectroscopy, which is an established contactless method that circumvents challenges in the fabrication of electrical contacts on nanowires. We found that the mobility of electrons inside the strained GaAs core undergoes a remarkable enhancement despite the small core thickness, becoming 30 – 50 % higher than in unstrained GaAs/AlGaAs nanowires or bulk GaAs [2]. Our studies are extended to modulation-doped GaAs/InAlAs nanowires and the results will be presented. The reported strain-induced mobility enhancement is of major importance for the realization of transistors with high speed and low power consumption, having the potential to trigger major advancements in high-performance nanowire electronic devices monolithically integrated in Si platforms. [1] L. Balaghi, G. Bussone

Optical pump – THz probe spectroscopy has been established as a tool for contactless probing of electronic transport in semiconductor nanowires (NWs) [1]. Particularly in III-V NWs, scattering rates of charge carriers, as well as their plasmonic resonances for typical doping levels, are located in the THz range. The analysis of the optical conductivity spectra using the localized surface plasmon model provides an estimation of the carrier density and the mobility. Here, we employ THz spectroscopy to study electron mobility in the strained GaAs core of GaAs/InAlAs core/shell nanowires. Owing to the lattice mismatch between the core and the shell in these NWs, the bandgap energy in the strained GaAs core exhibits a reduction by up to 40% [2]. Our results demonstrate that this effect is accompanied by a notable increase in the electron mobility by 30-50% with respect to a bulk GaAs [3]. We discuss the role of various scattering mechanisms and their dependence on strain and temperature. In addition to the homogeneous plasmon broadening caused by the carrier scattering, we also observe an inhomogeneous broadening in dense ensembles of NWs as illustrated in Fig. 1(a). Our modelling demonstrates that such broadening stems from the plasmonic interaction between neighboring NWs leading to the shift of the plasmon frequency as shown in Fig. 1(b). This effect has to be considered in the analysis of THz response of NWs since it may result in a significant underestimation of the mobility values.

We investigate the coherent coupling of metamaterial resonators with hydrogen-like boron acceptors in Si at cryogenic temperatures. When the resonance frequency of the metamaterial, chosen to be in the range 7–9 THz, superimposes the transition frequency from the ground state of the acceptor to an excited state, Rabi splitting as large as 0.4 THz is observed. The coherent coupling shows a feature of cooperative interaction, where the Rabi splitting is proportional to the square root of the density of the acceptors. Our experiments may help to open a possible route for the investigation of quantum information processes employing strong coupling of dopants in cavities.

Radiation sources with a stable carrier-envelope phase (CEP) are highly demanded tools for field-resolved studies of light-matter interaction, providing access both to the amplitude and phase information of dynamical processes. At the same time, many coherent light sources, including those with outstanding power and spectral characteristics lack CEP stability, and so far could not be used for this type of research. In this work, we present a method enabling linear and non-linear phase-resolved terahertz (THz) -pump laser-probe experiments with CEP-unstable THz sources. THz CEP information for each pulse is extracted using a specially designed electro-optical detection scheme. The method correlates the extracted CEP value for each pulse with the THz-induced response in the parallel pump-probe experiment to obtain an absolute phase-resolved response after proper sorting and averaging. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate experimentally field-resolved THz time-domain spectroscopy with sub-cycle temporal resolution using the pulsed radiation of a CEP-unstable infrared free-electron laser (IR-FEL) operating at 13 MHz repetition rate. In spite of the long history of IR-FELs and their unique operational characteristics, no successful realization of CEP-stable operation has been demonstrated yet. Being CEP-unstable, IR-FEL radiation has so far only been used in non-coherent measurements without phase resolution. The technique demonstrated here is robust, operates easily at high-repetition rates and for short THz pulses, and enables common sequential field-resolved time-domain experiments. The implementation of such a technique at IR-FEL user end-stations will facilitate a new class of linear and non-linear experiments for studying coherent light-driven phenomena with increased signal-to-noise ratio.

We investigate the coherent coupling of metamaterial resonators with hydrogen-like boron acceptors in Si at cryogenic temperatures. When the resonance frequency of the metamaterial, chosen to be in the range 7–9 THz, superimposes the transition frequency from the ground state of the acceptor to an excited state, Rabi splitting as large as 0.4 THz is observed. The coherent coupling shows a feature of cooperative interaction, where the Rabi splitting is proportional to the square root of the density of the acceptors. Our experiments may help to open a possible route for the investigation of quantum information processes employing strong coupling of dopants in cavities.

We utilize optical pump – THz probe spectroscopy to estimate electron mobility in strained GaAs/(In,Al)As core/shell nanowires. Our results demonstrate that strain-induced reduction of the effective electron mass leads to a remarkable increase of the mobility. The data analysis indicates an important role of the inhomogeneous plasmon broadening that may affect THz spectra of dense ensembles of nanowires.

High harmonic generation (HHG) has applications in various fields, including ultrashort pulse measurements, material characterization and imaging microscopy. Strong THz nonlinearity and efficient third harmonic generation (THG) were demonstrated in graphene [1], therefore it is natural to assume the presence of the same effect in other Dirac materials, such as topological insulators (TI). Topological states can be found in HgTe quantum wells with a thickness of more than 6.3 nm [2], and strained 3D Hg1-xCdxTe thin films with cadmium fraction x < 0.16 [3]. We used a series of HgTe samples corresponding to three qualitatively different cases: 2D trivial and topological structures and 3D topological insulators. By using moderate THz fields, the presence of highly efficient THG was measured in these samples at different temperatures and THz powers. This provides insight into physical mechanisms leading to THG in TIs. For in-depth understanding of Dirac fermions dynamics and dominating scattering mechanisms in HgTe TI, we conducted THz pump-probe experiments that reveal several relaxation time scales. [1] Hafez, H. A. et al., Nature 561, 507 (2018). [2] Bernevig, B. et al. Science 314, 5806 (2006): 1757-1761. [3] Brüne, C., et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 12 (2011): 126803.

Using gold-implantated germanium, where the carrier lifetime is shortened by more than three orders of magnitude, we have demonstrated a broadband photoconductive THz emitter compatible with modelocked fiber lasers operating at wavelengths of 1.1 and 1.55 um and pulse repetition rates up to 20 MHz. The emitted THz spectrum spans up to 70 THz. This approach opens up a prospect for manufacturing of compact, high-bandwidth THz photonic devices compatible with Si CMOS technology.

The FELBE User Facility at the ELBE Center for High-Power Radiation Sources offers a pair of FELs that deliver beam to eight different user labs. The FELs are driven by a two-stage Superconducting RF (SRF) linac, which produces a quasi-CW beam (13 MHz/1 mA) at an energy of up to 36 MeV. The tuning range spanned by the two FELs extends from the mid IR to THz (5 – 250 m). The spectral range and ultrashort pulse width (p ≈ 0.7 – 25 ps) are ideal for time-resolved measurements of many types of transient processes in low-dimensional materials [1], quantum structures [2], and correlated systems [3]. The high pulse energy can also drive nonlinear phenomena [4] and strong coupling [5] in light-matter interactions. The FELBE User Labs are equipped with instrumentation and synchronized ultrashort table-top lasers (i.e. Ti:Sa oscillators, regens, OPAs, SFG/DFG) which facilitate various classes of degenerate (single-color), and non-degenerate (two-color) pump-probe experiments. Optical cryostats and an 8 T split coil magnet are also available for low temperature and magnetic field dependent studies. Furthermore, the FELBE beamline extends into the adjacent High Field Magnet Lab (HLD) for performing magneto-optical spectroscopy measurements at fields up to 70 T [6]. The high repetition rate and tunability of the FELBE beam has uniquely enabled revolutionary methods in scattering-Scanning Nearfield Optical Microscopy (s­SNOM) to image novel light-matter interactions with resolution far below the diffraction limit [7]. Proposals for beamtime on FELBE and the other secondary sources at ELBE are invited from users twice a year. (https://www.hzdr.de/FELBE). [1] T. Venanzi, et al., ACS Photonics 8, 2931-2939 (2021). [2] J. Schmidt, et al., Optics Express 28, 25358-25370 (2020). [3] M. M. Jadidi, et al., Phys. Rev. B 102, 245123 (2020). [4] F. Meng, et al., Phys. Rev. B 102, 075205 (2020). [5] B. Piętka, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 077403 (2017). [6] M. Ozerov, et al., Phys. Rev. L