The EIS-TIMEX end-station exploits the high intensity, energy range and time structure of the FERMI FEL pulses to probe fundamental properties of dense matter under metastable and/or extreme thermodynamic conditions with sub-ps time resolution. The basic idea is to exploit the high peak power of FERMI to induce an efficient ultrafast (< ps) and almost isochoric heating (up to tens of eV  or ~106 K range) followed by a slower (~10 ps) isoentropic expansion of bulk-like dense samples. The deposited energy induces a strong nonequilibrium condition characterized by high electron temperatures and cold lattice, typically followed by structural changes, phase transitions and, under specific conditions, even drive the Warm Dense Matter (WDM) thermodynamic regime. WDM is a poorly understood state of matter located between condensed matter and classical plasma, where the atoms/ions are strongly coupled to the dense electron plasma despite its high temperature. The understanding of WDM represents a real challenge for researchers, and it would be of great relevance for several applications, such as: inertial fusion, extreme-state chemistry, high-pressure research, etc.

Additionally, the high peak fluences that can be reached at the sample, together with the availability of a wide energy spectrometer, allow to exploit EIS-TIMEX for non-linear optical spectroscopies such as for example Sum Frequency Generation. 

Additional Lightsources

Seed Laser for Users (SLU)

Laser type
Ti:Sapphire
Central Wavelength/Energy
795 [nm]
Wavelength fluctuations
1 * 10-3 [%]
Spectral Bandwidth FWHM
16 - 20 [nm]
Tunability
1 [%]
Beam shape
Gaussian
Other beam shape
M2<1.5
Pulse duration FWHM
65 [fs]
Polarisation
Linear Horizontal, Linear Vertical, Circular
Other polarisation
All linear and circular polarizations available
Pulse repetition rate
50 [Hz]
Maximum pulse energy
1.5 * 10-3 [J]
Pulse energy fluctuations
5 * 10-3 [sigma]
Peak power
20 * 109 [W]
Peak fluence on target
10 [J/cm2]
Special modes
2nd and 3rd harmonics (~390 and ~260 nm) available

Whitelight supercontinuum

Laser type
Generated by Ti:Sapphire laser at 795 nm
Central Wavelength/Energy
645 [nm]
Wavelength fluctuations
1 * 10-3 [%]
Spectral Bandwidth FWHM
270 - 290 [meV]
Beam shape
Gaussian
Pulse duration FWHM
10 [fs]
Polarisation
Linear Horizontal, Linear Vertical
Pulse repetition rate
50 [Hz]
Maximum pulse energy
1 * 10-12 [J]
Peak power
100 [W]
Notes
The supercontinuum is generated by focussing the SLU fundamental in a 3 mm Sapphire crystal.
The 10 fs pulse duration can be achieved outside of the chamber by compressing with a pair of chirped mirrors. Chamber upgrades are currently being developed to deliver similar pulse durations at the sample.
Endstations or Setup

experimental chamber

Microscopes
Long range microscope with um resolution to look at the sample.
Spectrometer
Wide Energy Spectrometer at TIMEX (WEST):
configuration 1 (operative) - wavelength range 42-17 nm, resolution power ~10000
configuration 2 (to be commissioned) - wavelength range 17-4 nm, resolution power ~7000
Base Pressure
1 * 10-7 [mbar]
Endstation Operative
Yes

Sample

Sample Type
Crystal, Amorphous
Mounting Type
ultrathin foils: 17 mm O.D. sample holder
thick substrates are typically positioned by means of carbon tape pieces

Manipulator or Sample stage

Positioning Precision
X = 5 [um], Y = 5 [um], Z = 5 [um]
Range Of Movement
X = 40 [mm], Y = 40 [mm], Z = 200 [mm]
Detectors

Andor ikon-M 934

Type
CCD
Description
High resolution, low noise and high-sensitivity CCD camera.
Pixel Size
X = 13 [um], Y = 13 [um]
Array Size
X = 1024 [pixel], Y = 1024 [pixel]
Passive or Active (Electronics)
Active

Detection

Detected Particle
Photon
contacts
Emiliano Principi (BL coordinator)
Laura Foglia (BL scientist)
Riccardo Mincigrucci (BL scientist)
Techniques
Absorption
  • NEXAFS
  • Time-resolved studies
Emission or Reflection
  • Time-resolved studies
  • X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL)
  • X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
Scattering
  • Elastic scattering
  • Inelastic scattering
  • Time-resolved scattering
Disciplines
Chemistry
  • Other - Chemistry
Earth Sciences & Environment
  • Other - Earth Sciences & Environment
Material Sciences
  • Knowledge based multifunctional materials
  • Other - Material Sciences
Physics
  • Other - Physics
control/Data analysis
Control Software Type
  • TANGO
Data Output Type
  • Tensors of rank 0 - 3
Data Output Format
  • HDF5 files containing data structure with the pertinent information about the machine, the experimental station and the sample. Data can be numbers, vectors, matrices or tensors. Some data are available for each single FERMI pulse, some others are acquired with integrative measures.
Softwares For Data Analysis
  • Python, Matlab, Igor, Gnuplot (users can develop their own analysis code)
Equipment That Can Be Brought By The User
aditional experimental chamber, additional imaging detectors (Princeton and Andor CCDs), photodiodes