Ultrashort laser pulses let new microscope map electron interactions across thin materials

Scientists at Università Cattolica in Brescia have developed a new type of microscope called wide-field coherent multidimensional microscopy. This innovative tool employs a series of ultra-short laser pulses to capture the behavior of materials over incredibly brief time intervals, measured in millionths of a billionth of a second.

The microscope enables researchers to observe the mechanisms of electron interactions within different regions of a microelectronic device, offering unprecedented insights into the spatial variations of optical and electronic properties. This breakthrough was achieved through collaboration between the Faculty of Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, and Natural Sciences at Università Cattolica, Politecnico di Milano, KU Leuven, the University of British Columbia, and CNR.

The microscope's potential applications include improving the efficiency of solar cells, LEDs, sensors, and electronic devices, while also facilitating the study of biological systems and the metabolism of cancer cells. Additionally, the technique could contribute to the advancement of quantum computing by enabling the observation and control of quantum properties in materials, paving the way for new systems to form qubits, the fundamental building blocks of quantum computers.