Abstract
In pump-probe experiments employing a free-electron laser (FEL) in combination with a synchronized optical femtosecond laser, the arrival-time jitter between the FEL pulse and the optical laser pulse often severely limits the temporal resolution that can be achieved. Here, we present a pump-probe experiment on the UV-induced dissociation of 2,6-difluoroiodobenzene (C6H3F2I) molecules performed at the FLASH FEL that takes advantage of recent upgrades of the FLASH timing and synchronization system to obtain high-quality data that are not limited by the FEL arrival-time jitter. We discuss in detail the necessary data analysis steps and describe the origin of the time-dependent effects in the yields and kinetic energies of the fragment ions that we observe in the experiment.
Highlights
Free-electron lasers (FELs) (Ackermann et al 2007, Shintake et al 2008, Emma et al 2010, Allaria et al 2012, Ishikawa et al 2012) deliver intense, extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and x-ray pulses with pulse lengths ranging from a few to a few hundred femtoseconds, providing unprecedented opportunities for ultrafast time-resolved experiments in the XUV to x-ray regime
By discussing a UV-laser-pump XUV-FEL-probe experiment studying the UV-induced photodissociation of aligned 2,6-DFIB molecules at the FLASH FEL, we have highlighted significant technical and practical improvements for femtosecond time-resolved pump-probe experiments that were achieved by recent upgrades of the FLASH timing (Kim 2007, Löhl et al 2010) and synchronization system (Schulz et al 2015)
We demonstrated the importance of a careful post-analysis of the pump-probe data that takes into account the timing and diagnostics data provided by the FLASH facility
Summary
Free-electron lasers (FELs) (Ackermann et al 2007, Shintake et al 2008, Emma et al 2010, Allaria et al 2012, Ishikawa et al 2012) deliver intense, extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and x-ray pulses with pulse lengths ranging from a few to a few hundred femtoseconds, providing unprecedented opportunities for ultrafast time-resolved experiments in the XUV to x-ray regime. These requirements impose many technical and geometric constraints and, in some cases, make it impossible to use a cross-correlation scheme for the pumpprobe experiment
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
