XXIV Users' Meeting: Smaller and Faster: Infrared and Terahertz Spectral-Imaging at the Nanoscale with Synchrotron Radiation and Free Electron Laser Sources

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(ph. FotoRolli)

Recent technical and scientific improvements permit today to circumvent the far-field diffraction barrier of IR microspectroscopy and to reach the spatial resolution down to the nanometer scale. The combination of near-field microscopes with IR and THz sources offers unprecedented opportunities for material characterization, widening the perspectives in a multitude of fields of sciences by confining vibro-electronic information within few tens of nanometers. In addition, electronic, plasmonic, magnetic, and structural dynamic phenomena occurring at the nanometer scale in hetero-structured and phase separated materials can now be addressed by coupling powerful and ultrafast optical sources with near-field probes.

 

The aim of SAFE workshop was to present the most recent technological advancements and innovative applications achieved with state-of-the-art near-field infrared microscopes. The workshop, held December 1-2 2016 during the Elettra XXIV User Meeting, opened with the welcome from Elettra president and chief executive officer Prof. Alfonso Franciosi. During the sessions, the speakers presented new cutting-edge approaches for getting nanometer-scale vibro-electronic information, along with the instrumental advancements that have made their benefit available to a large scientific community. Two workshop sessions were dedicated to the coupling of Storage Ring (SR) and FEL facilities with nanometer scale probes and to the advantages they may provide in comparison with laser sources. Speakers also presented the most scientifically relevant applications in several fields of science ranging from biology to material science, encompassing time resolved spectroscopy, and focusing on the exciting opportunities offered by SR and FEL sources for large-scale facility users. The workshop was concluded by a round table where participants discussed on potentialities and challenges of IR and THz nanoscopy with synchrotron and FEL sources.

The outstanding quality of the speakers and of the scientific program, and the high number of attendees (more than 90, from Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, United Kingdom, Austria and United States) contributed to the success of the workshop, paving the way to many future collaborations and scientific opportunities.

 

Lisa Vaccari

 

 

 

 

 
Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 December 2016 09:59