All-optical control and metrology of electron pulses

TLDR

Electron pulses enable snapshots of fast events, providing insights into chemical reactions, electronic transport, structural transitions, and their combinations. The authors use an ultrafast optical method to generate electron bunches and compress them by over an order of magnitude to femtosecond durations. This technique enables imaging of ultrafast phenomena with atomic‑scale spatial resolution. Kealhofer et al., Science, this issue p.

Abstract

Electron pulses under control The ability to take snapshots of fast events can often provide insights into the dynamics of the processes involved: chemical reactions, electronic transport, structural transitions, and complex combinations involving of all of these processes. Kealhofer et al. describe an ultrafast optics approach for generating bunches of electrons and compressing them by more than an order of magnitude to just femtosecond time scales (see the Perspective by Ropers). The technique opens up the possibility of imaging ultrafast phenomena with atomic-scale spatial resolution. Science , this issue p. 429 ; see also p. 410