RESUMEN

Using heterodyne transient grating spectroscopy, we observe a significant enhancement of exciton diffusion in a monolayer WSe2 stacked on graphene. The diffusion dynamics can be optically tuned within a few picoseconds by altering the photoexcited carrier density in graphene. The effective diffusion constant in initial picoseconds in the WSe2/graphene heterostructure is (40.3 ± 4.5) cm2 s-1, representing a substantial improvement over (2.1 ± 0.8) cm2 s-1, typical for an isolated WSe2 monolayer. This enhancement can be understood in terms of a transient screening of impurities, charge traps, and defect states in WSe2 by photoexcited charge carriers in graphene. Furthermore, diffusion within WSe2 is affected by interlayer interactions, such as charge transfer, varying with the incident excitation fluence. These findings underscore the dynamical nature of screening and diffusion processes in heterostructures of 2D semiconductors and graphene and provide insights for future applications of these systems in ultrafast optoelectronic devices.

RESUMEN

Despite the fundamental and technological importance of the elastic constants, a suitable method for their full characterization in epitaxial films is missing. Here we show that transient grating spectroscopy (TGS) with highly k-vector-selective generation and detection of acoustic waves is capable of determination of all independent elastic coefficients of an epitaxial thin film grown on a single-crystalline substrate. This experimental setup enables detection of various types of guided acoustic waves and evaluation of the directional dependence of their speeds of propagation. For the studied model system, which is a 3µm thin epitaxial film of the NiTi shape memory alloy on an MgO substrate, the TGS angular maps include Rayleigh-type surface acoustic waves as well as Sezawa-type and Love-type modes, delivering rich information on the elastic response of the film under different straining modes. The resulting inverse problem, which means the calculation of the elastic constants from the TGS maps, is subsequently solved using the Ritz-Rayleigh numerical method. Using this approach, tetragonal elastic constants of the NiTi film and their changes with the austenite→martensite phase transition are analyzed.

RESUMEN

The mechanism by which proteins are solvated in hydrated ionic liquids remains an open question. Herein, the photoexcitation dynamics of photoactive yellow protein dissolved in hydrated choline dihydrogen phosphate (Hy[ch][dhp]) were studied by transient absorption and transient grating spectroscopy. The photocyclic reaction of the protein in Hy[ch][dhp] was similar to that observed in the buffer solution, as confirmed by transient absorption spectroscopy. However, the structural change of the protein during the photocycle in Hy[ch][dhp] was found to be different from that observed in the buffer solution. The known change in the diffusion coefficient of the protein was apparently suppressed in high concentrations of [ch][dhp], plausibly due to stabilization of the secondary structure.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

The characterization of the time structure of ultrafast photon pulses in the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray spectral ranges is of high relevance for a number of scientific applications and photon diagnostics. Such measurements can be performed following different strategies and often require large setups and rather high pulse energies. Here, high-quality measurements carried out by exploiting the transient grating process, i.e. a third-order non-linear process sensitive to the time-overlap between two crossed EUV pulses, is reported. From such measurements it is possible to obtain information on both the second-order intensity autocorrelation function and on the coherence length of the pulses. It was found that the pulse energy density needed to carry out such measurements on solid state samples can be as low as a few mJ cm-2. Furthermore, the possibility to control the arrival time of the crossed pulses independently might permit the development of a number of coherent spectroscopies in the EUV and soft X-ray regime, such as, for example, photon echo and two-dimensional spectroscopy.