Dartmouth Events

Physics & Astronomy Virtual Colloquium - Catherine Kealhofer, Williams College

Title: "Generating and Controlling Ultrafast Electron Pulses for Time-Resolved Electron Diffraction"

Friday, March 5, 2021
3:00pm – 4:00pm
Zoom: Email for link and password.
Intended Audience(s): Public
Categories: Lectures & Seminars

Abstract: Ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) is a powerful technique that lets us measure the positions of atoms in a crystal as they evolve during chemical and physical transformations.  These measurements can give insight into how materials work on a microscopic level as well as guide the design of devices that respond on fast timescales.  For some time, the best-available time resolution in UED hovered around 100 femtoseconds, just shy of the 10 fs resolution required to see the fastest atomic motions.  In my talk, I’ll explain how ultrafast electron diffraction works and why it’s challenging to break the 100-fs resolution barrier.  I’ll explain some techniques for temporally compressing electron pulses, and I’ll present progress towards building an ultrafast electron diffraction apparatus at Williams College.

For more information, contact:
Tressena Manning
603-646-2854

Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.