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People affected by suicidal thoughts often find it hard to identify someone to share their experience with. This paper introduces the idea of ‘personification’ as an alternative way to build companionship for people affected by suicidal thoughts. Used alongside art and documentation practices, the personified Moonlight Treasure Box helped four people dealing with suicidal thoughts and experiences to face loneliness, counter their problems and develop rich storylines.

The heterogeneous rate constant (k) for the reduction of Fe(CN)63- at different UV-illuminated TiO2 polymorphs was determined by (1) cyclic voltammetry (CV) where a TiO2-modified fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated glass was the working electrode, and (2) SECM approach curves at the same electrodes at open circuit. The combination of Fe(CN)63- with photogenerated electrons was found to be the rate determining step. The magnitude of the SECM values of k were in the order: anatase-rutile > anatase > rutile > amorphous, which agrees with the generally accepted photocatalytic efficiencies of the TiO2 polymorphs. In contrast, the CV-determined values of k followed the sequence: amorphous > rutile > anatase-rutile > anatase and were approximately one order of magnitude lower than the SECM-determined values. We suggest this indicates the CV determination of rate constants at photoactive films is problematic, due to factors such as reaction at the underlying electrode and the uncompensated resistance of the film.

The latest developments of miniature supercapacitors or microsupercapacitors involve the optimization of both energy-storage density and scalability of the manufacturing processes. Due to the reduced size and the compromised performance with material printability or cost, microsupercapacitors might behave non-ideally and non-linearly in real applications. Here we introduce a simple but powerful characterization method based on equivalent circuit analysis to explore the consequences of these imperfections on the charging and discharging properties of microsupercapacitors. Under voltage control, an asymmetric behavior of the voltammetry emerges upon charging and discharging, a part of the storage being hidden from the external circuit. Under current control, the capacitance is dependent on the magnitude and symmetry of applied current. These non-linear effects have to be incorporated into future consideration of any microsupercapacitor circuits.

The detection and identification of multiple components in a complex sample such as food in a cost-effective way is an ongoing challenge. The development of on-site and rapid detection methods to ensure food quality and composition is of significant interest to the food industry. Here we report that an electrochemical method can be used with an unmodified glassy carbon electrode for the identification of the key ingredients found within Thai green curries. It was found that green curry presents a fingerprint electrochemical response that contains four distinct peaks when differential pulse voltammetry is performed. The reproducibility of the sensor is excellent as no surface modification is required and therefore storage is not an issue. By employing particle swarm optimization algorithms the identification of ingredients within a green curry could be obtained. In addition, the quality and freshness of the sample could be monitored by detecting a change in the intensity of the peaks in the fingerprint response.

We study the temperature-dependent phonon modes of the organometallic lead iodide perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 thin film across the terahertz (0.5-3 THz) and temperature (20-300 K) ranges. These modes are related to the vibration of the Pb-I bonds. We found that two phonon modes in the tetragonal phase at room temperature split into four modes in the low-temperature orthorhombic phase. By use of the Lorentz model fitting, we analyze the critical behavior of this phase transition. The carrier mobility values calculated from the low-temperature phonon mode frequencies, via two theoretical approaches, are found to agree reasonably with the experimental value (∼2000 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)) from a previous time-resolved THz spectroscopy work. Thus, we have established a possible link between terahertz phonon modes and the transport properties of perovskite-based solar cells.

Based on the context of higher life expectancy and lower pregnancy rate, ageing society is unavoidable. Technological response is necessary. Hormone Couture exhibition presents two wearable technologies that aesthetically respond to women's reproductive hormone and body temperature changes. The designs address how technology creates a biopolitical issues whether the wearable technology empowers women by giving her access to biological information, or creates gendered oppression by having a technology that monitors, controls, and influences sexual behavior on the body. Both of these arguments cannot be separated as they altogether exist at the same time as two sides of the same coin. This contradictory relationship between technological advancement and gender politics was materialized into the work aiming to criticize and speculate the future of wearable technology, and how it reinforces dynamics of gender tension in society.

We review recent progress in femtosecond magnetization dynamics probed by extreme ultraviolet pulses from high-harmonic generation. In a transverse magneto-optical Kerr geometry, we established an ultrafast, element-specific experimental capability – on a table-top – for the measurement of magnetization dynamics in complex multi-sublattice magnets and multilayer magnetic structures. We show that this newly introduced technique is an artifact-free magnetic sensor, with only negligible non-magnetic (optical) contributions from the transient variation of the refractive index due to the presence of a non equilibrium hot-electron distribution. We then use these new experimental capabilities of ultrahigh time-resolution, combined with element-specific simultaneous probing, to disentangle important microscopic processes that drive magnetization dynamics on femtosecond timescales. We elucidate the role of exchange interaction on magnetization dynamics in strongly exchange-coupled alloys, and the role of photo-induced superdiffusive spin currents in magnetic multilayer stacks.

Nature Communications 6: Article number: 8903 (2015); Published: 30 July 2015; Updated: 10 March 2016 This article contains errors in the units used for carrier mobility. In Fig. 2a–d, the units on the y axis should be ‘cm2V−1s−1’ not ‘V−1s−1cm−1’. Similarly, the second and third sentences of the second paragraph of the ‘Quantum yield calculation’ section should read ‘From Fig.

Ultrafast optical studies have been performed on epitaxial films of the novel B-phase of vanadium dioxide using temperature-dependent optical pump-probe technique. Signature of temperature-driven metal-to-insulator transition was distinctly observed in the ultrafast dynamics — the insulating phase showed two characteristic electronic relaxation times while the metallic phase showed only one. Beyond a threshold value of the pump fluence, the insulating state collapses into a ‘metallic-like’ phase which can be further subdivided into two regimes according to the lengths of the fast characteristic time. The first regime can be explained by lattice heating due to the optical pump; the other cannot be accounted by simple lattice heating effects alone, and thus offers evidence for a true photoinduced phase transition. NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore) MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Published version

The underlying physics of all ferromagnetic behavior is the cooperative interaction between individual atomic magnetic moments that results in a macroscopic magnetization. In this work, we use extreme ultraviolet pulses from high-harmonic generation as an element-specific probe of ultrafast, optically driven, demagnetization in a ferromagnetic Fe-Ni alloy (permalloy). We show that for times shorter than the characteristic timescale for exchange coupling, the magnetization of Fe quenches more strongly than that of Ni. Then as the Fe moments start to randomize, the strong ferromagnetic exchange interaction induces further demagnetization in Ni, with a characteristic delay determined by the strength of the exchange interaction. We can further enhance this delay by lowering the exchange energy by diluting the permalloy with Cu. This measurement probes how the fundamental quantum mechanical exchange coupling between Fe and Ni in magnetic materials influences magnetic switching dynamics in ferromagnetic materials relevant to next-generation data storage technologies.

Light microscopy has greatly advanced our understanding of nature. The achievable resolution, however, is limited by optical wavelengths to approximately 200 nm. By using imaging and labeling technologies, resolutions beyond the diffraction limit can be achieved for specialized specimens with techniques such as near-field scanning optical microscopy, stimulated emission depletion microscopy, and photoactivated localization microscopy. Here, we report a versatile soft x-ray diffraction microscope with 70- to 90-nm resolution by using two different tabletop coherent soft x-ray sources-a soft x-ray laser and a high-harmonic source. We also use field curvature correction that allows high numerical aperture imaging and near-diffraction-limited resolution of 1.5lambda. A tabletop soft x-ray diffraction microscope should find broad applications in biology, nanoscience, and materials science because of its simple optical design, high resolution, large depth of field, 3D imaging capability, scalability to shorter wavelengths, and ultrafast temporal resolution.

Apart from broadband absorption of solar radiation, the performance of photovoltaic devices is governed by the density and mobility of photogenerated charge carriers. The latter parameters indicate how many free carriers move away from their origin, and how fast, before loss mechanisms such as carrier recombination occur. However, only lower bounds of these parameters are usually obtained. Here we independently determine both density and mobility of charge carriers in a perovskite film by the use of time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. Our data reveal the modification of the free carrier response by strong backscattering expected from these heavily disordered perovskite films. The results for different phases and different temperatures show a change of kinetics from two-body recombination at room temperature to three-body recombination at low temperatures. Our results suggest that perovskite-based solar cells can perform well even at low temperatures as long as the three-body recombination has not become predominant., In solar cells, the density and the mobility of charge carriers govern the device performance. Here the authors determine these quantities independently in perovskite films by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy to study the influence of disorder and crystal structure as a function of temperature.

A remarkable feature of vanadium dioxide is that it can be synthesized in a number of polymorphs. The conductivity mechanism in the metastable layered polymorph VO2(B) thin films has been investigated by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). In VO2(B), a critical temperature of 240 K marks the appearance of a non-zero Drude term in the observed complex conductivity, indicating the evolution from a pure insulating state towards a metallic state. In contrast, the THz conductivity of the well-known VO2(M1) is well fitted only by a modification of the Drude model to include backscattering. We also identified two different THz conductivity regimes separated by temperature in these two polymorphs. The electronic phase diagram is constructed, revealing that the width and onset of the metal-insulator transition in the B phase develop differently from the M1 phase.

Graphene based THz modulators are promising due to the conical band structure and high carrier mobility of graphene. Here, we tune the Fermi level of graphene via electrical gating with the help of ionic liquid to control the THz transmittance. It is found that, in the THz range, both the absorbance and reflectance of the device increase proportionately to the available density of states due to intraband transitions. Compact, stable, and repeatable THz transmittance modulation up to 93% (or 99%) for a single (or stacked) device has been demonstrated in a broad frequency range from 0.1 to 2.5 THz, with an applied voltage of only 3 V at room temperature.

As a light absorber in photovoltaic applications, hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskites should have long and balanced diffusion lengths for both the separated electrons and holes before recombination, which necessitates high carrier mobility. In polar semiconductors, the room-temperature carrier mobility is often limited by the scattering between carriers and the lowest-frequency optical phonon modes. Using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, we examine the temperature evolution of these phonon modes in CH3NH3PbBr3 and obtained high carrier mobility values using Feynman's polaron theory. This method allows us to estimate the upper limit of carrier mobilities without the need to create photogenerated free carriers, and can be applied to other heteropolar semiconductor systems with large polarons. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Published version

We propose a simple scenario where the superimposed phonon modes on the photoconductive spectra are experimental artifacts due to the invalid formula used in data analysis. By use of experimental and simulated data of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskites as a case study, we demonstrate that a correction term must be included in the approximated thin-film formula used in the literature; otherwise, parts of the spectra with high background permittivity near the phonon-mode resonances might interfere with the transient photoconductivity. The implication of this work is not limited to perovskites but other materials with strong vibrational modes within the THz spectral range. ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore) MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Published version

Our understanding of ultrafast switching processes in novel spin-based electronics depends on our detailed knowledge of interactions between spin, charge and phonons in magnetic structures. We present element-selective studies, using extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light, to gain insight into spin dynamics in exchange coupled magnetic multilayers on the femtosecond time scale.

We have studied femtosecond magnetization dynamics probed by extreme ultraviolet pulses from high-harmonic generation, with element-selectivity and ultrafast time resolution. By use of this technique, we identify the microscopic processes that drive magnetization dynamics on femtosecond timescales. Here, we concentrate on controlling superdiffusive spin-currents in magnetic multilayers.

By using laser-based high harmonic EUV sources, we make several advances in uncovering new understanding of correlated charge and spin dynamics on few femtosecond timescales, and in developing new element-specific capabilities for probing magnetic materials.

In the following, we show that the conclusions of our article titled “Ultrafast Demagnetization Measurements Using Extreme Ultraviolet Light: Comparison of Electronic and Magnetic Contributions” are correct. The Comment of Vodungbo et al. argues that a unique determination of the refractive index variation over time is not possible using the data set presented in our paper. Furthermore, it was suggested that the lack of uniqueness allows for the possibility of a very specific time-dependent trajectory of the refractive index in the complex plane that could give rise to a large nonmagnetic modulation of the measured asymmetry, in spite of a negligible change in the s-polarized reflectivity. In this Reply, we conclusively show that any nonmagnetic contribution to the measured asymmetry is indeed negligible (

The study of ultrafast dynamics in magnetic materials provides rich opportunities for greater fundamental understanding of correlated phenomena in solid-state matter, because many of the basic microscopic mechanisms involved are as-yet unclear and are still being uncovered. Recently, two different possible mechanisms have been proposed to explain ultrafast laser induced magnetization dynamics: spin currents and spin-flip scattering. In this work, we use multilayers of Fe and Ni with different metals and insulators as the spacer material to conclusively show that spin currents can have a significant contribution to optically induced magnetization dynamics, in addition to spin-flip scattering processes. Moreover, we can control the competition between these two processes, and in some cases completely suppress interlayer spin currents as a sample undergoes rapid demagnetization. Finally, by reversing the order of the Fe/Ni layers, we experimentally show that spin currents are directional in our samples, predominantly flowing from the top to the bottom layer.

Using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, the real part of optical conductivity [$\sigma_{1}(\omega)$] of twisted bilayer graphene was obtained at different temperatures (10 -- 300 K) in the frequency range 0.3 -- 3 THz. On top of a Drude-like response, we see a strong peak in $\sigma_{1} (\omega)$ at $\sim$2.7 THz. We analyze the overall Drude-like response using a disorder-dependent (unitary scattering) model, then attribute the peak at 2.7 THz to an enhanced density of states at that energy, that is caused by the presence of a van Hove singularity arising from a commensurate twisting of the two graphene layers., Comment: 4 figures, 5 pages

We have measured the terahertz-frequency optical conductivity of the epitaxial inverse spinel NiCo2O4 films grown at different temperatures. The low-temperature-grown film exhibits a metallic behavior with ferrimagnetic ordering, while the high-temperature-grown film shows greatly suppressed magnetization and insulating behavior. Both films exhibit band-like coherent conduction at intermediate temperatures, albeit with very different carrier densities consistent with the proposed models of cation valencies in this mixed-valence material. Both films also display a crossover to incoherent transport at low temperatures, indicating a disorder-induced tendency toward localization. Published version

Ultrashort pulses of extreme ultraviolet light from high-harmonic generation are a new tool for probing coupled charge, spin, and phonon dynamics with element specificity, attosecond pump-probe synchronization, and time resolution of a few femtoseconds in a tabletop apparatus. In this paper, we address an important question in magneto-optics that has implications for understanding magnetism on the fastest time scales: Is the signal from the transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect at the M_{2,3} edges of a magnetic material purely magnetic or is it perturbed by nonmagnetic artifacts? Our measurements demonstrate conclusively that transverse magneto-optical Kerr measurements at the M_{2,3} edges sensitively probe the magnetic state, with almost negligible contributions from the transient variation of the refractive index by the nonequilibrium hot-electron distribution. In addition, we compare pump-probe demagnetization dynamics measured by both high harmonics and conventional visible-wavelength magneto-optics and find that the measured demagnetization times are in agreement.

Uncovering the physical mechanisms that govern ultrafast charge and spin dynamics is crucial for understanding correlated matter as well as the fundamental limits of ultrafast spin-based electronics. Spin dynamics in magnetic materials can be driven by ultrashort light pulses, resulting in a transient drop in magnetization within a few hundred femtoseconds. However, a full understanding of femtosecond spin dynamics remains elusive. Here we spatially separate the spin dynamics using Ni/Ru/Fe magnetic trilayers, where the Ni and Fe layers can be ferro- or antiferromagnetically coupled. By exciting the layers with a laser pulse and probing the magnetization response simultaneously but separately in Ni and Fe, we surprisingly find that optically induced demagnetization of the Ni layer transiently enhances the magnetization of the Fe layer when the two layer magnetizations are initially aligned parallel. Our observations are explained by a laser-generated superdiffusive spin current between the layers.

High harmonics from a tabletop laser are used to probe ultrafast demagnetization of a compound material (Permalloy) with elemental selectivity. We achieve the highest time resolution, element-specific, measurements to date at 55 fs.

We demonstrate lensless diffractive microscopy using a tabletop source of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light from high harmonic generation at 29 nm and 13.5 nm. High harmonic generation has been shown to produce fully spatially coherent EUV light when the conversion process is well phase-matched in a hollow-core waveguide. We use this spatial coherence for two related diffractive imaging techniques which circumvent the need for lossy imaging optics in the EUV region of the spectrum. Holography with a reference beam gives sub-100 nm resolution in short exposure times with fast image retrieval. Application of the Guided Hybrid Input-Output phase retrieval algorithm refines the image resolution to 53 nm with 29 nm light. Initial images using the technologically important 13.5 nm wavelength give 92nm resolution in a 10-minute exposure. Straightforward extensions of this work should also allow near-wavelength resolution with the 13.5 nm source. Diffractive imaging techniques provide eased alignment and focusing requirements as compared with zone plate or multilayer mirror imaging systems. The short-pulsed nature of the extreme ultraviolet source will allow pump-probe imaging of materials dynamics with time resolutions down to the pulse duration of the EUV.

We use high EUV harmonics generated from tabletop laser to detect the ultrafast demagnetization at M-absorption edge of Fe and Ni. The magnetization is reduced by 60% during the first 250 fs after pump pulses.

We demonstrate lensless diffractive microscopy with 92nm resolution using 13.5nm light from high harmonic generation. Fast image retrieval with Fourier transform holography is shown, and we present paths to refining the images to higher resolution.

We use few-femtosecond soft x-ray pulses from high-harmonic generation to extract element-specific demagnetization dynamics and hysteresis loops of a compound material for the first time. Using a geometry where high-harmonic beams are reflected from a magnetized Permalloy grating, large changes in the reflected intensity of up to 6% at the M absorption edges of Fe and Ni are observed when the magnetization is reversed. A short pump pulse is used to destroy the magnetic alignment, which allows us to measure the fastest, elementally specific demagnetization dynamics, with 55 fs time resolution. The use of high harmonics for probing magnetic materials promises to combine nanometer spatial resolution, elemental specificity, and femtosecond-to-attosecond time resolution, making it possible to address important fundamental questions in magnetism.

We demonstrate high numerical aperture lensless diffractive imaging and Fourier transform holography using high harmonic generation from an ultrafast laser system. The HHG source operates at 29 nm or 13 nm wavelength and achieves 60 nm resolution.

We demonstrate multiple reference Fourier transform holography with coherent soft X-rays from a tabletop high harmonic source for the first time. Simple reconstruction using a two dimensional Fourier transform shows a 90 nm resolution.

We use curvature correction and high-numerical-aperture imaging to demonstrate a soft-X-ray diffraction microscope with 70-90 nm resolution using two tabletop coherent sources. This near-diffraction-limited resolution of 1.5lambda is a first for X-ray diffractive imaging.

The coupling between electronic states in a surface-adsorbate system is fundamental to the understanding of many surface interactions. In this Letter, we present the first direct time-resolved observations of the lifetime of core-excited states of an atom adsorbed onto a surface. By comparing laser-assisted photoemission from a substrate with a delayed Auger decay process from an adsorbate, we measure the lifetime of the $4{d}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ core level of xenon on Pt(111) to be $7.1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.1\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{fs}$. This result opens up time-domain measurements of surface dynamics where energy-resolved measurements may provide incomplete information.

In the development of highly efficient photovoltaic cells, solid perovskite systems have demonstrated unprecedented promise, with the figure of merit exceeding nineteen percent of efficiency. In this paper, we investigate the optical and vibrational properties of organometallic cubic perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 using first-principles calculations. For accurate theoretical description, we go beyond conventional density functional theory (DFT), and calculated optical conductivity using relativist quasi-particle (GW) correction. Incorporating these many-body effects, we further solve Bethe-Salpeter equations (BSE) for excitons, and found enhanced optical conductivity near the gap edge. Due to the presence of organic methylammonium cations near the center of the perovskite cell, the system is sensitive to low energy vibrational modes. We estimate the phonon modes of CH3NH3PbI3 using small displacement approach, and further calculate the infrared absorption (IR) spectra. Qualitatively, our calculations of low-energy phonon frequencies are in good agreement with our terahertz measurements. Therefore, for both energy scales (around 2 eV and 0-20 meV), our calculations reveal the importance of many-body effects and their contributions to the desirable optical properties in the cubic organometallic perovskites system., 5 pages, 4 figures

Using ultrafast optical pump-probe technique, we studied the temperature-dependent carrier and phonon dynamics of the topological insulator Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.8Se1.2 single-crystal from 10 K to 300 K. Two relaxation processes of carriers and coherent optical/acoustic phonons have been observed. By using the two-temperature model, we are able to attribute the fast (∼ps) relaxation component to carrier-phonon coupling involving carriers in the conduction band. We also studied the temperature dependence of the dephasing time and frequency of optical phonon, and the optical penetration depth of Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.8Se1.2. Published version

By use of optical pump-probe measurement, we study the relaxation dynamics of a multiferroic-ferromagnetic TbMnO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 bilayer. The relaxation dynamics of both layers are well separated in time allowing us to investigate the magnetic coupling across the bilayer. We observe that the relaxation dynamics of the individual layers in the bilayer sample are the result of the interplay between the intrinsic magnetic order and the induced interfacial effect. Our data suggest the existence of induced ferromagnetic order in the TbMnO3 layer and antiferromagnetic order in the La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 layer. Published version

Tabletop coherent x-ray sources hold great promise for practical nanoscale imaging, in particular when coupled with diffractive imaging techniques. In initial work, we demonstrated lensless diffraction imaging using a tabletop high harmonic generation (HHG) source at 29 nm, achieving resolutions ~ 200 nm. In recent work, we significantly enhanced our diffractive imaging resolution by implementing a new high numerical aperture (up to NA=0.6) scheme and field curvature correction where we achieved sub-100 nm resolution. Here we report the first demonstration of Fourier transform holography (FTH) with a tabletop SXR source, to acquire images with a resolution ≈ 90 nm. The resolution can be refined by applying phase retrieval. Additionally, we show initial results from FTH with 13.5 nm HHG radiation and demonstrate ~ 180 nm resolution.