LUMiNaD

Seeing the invisible in space and time

Our research activity is dedicated to the spatio-temporal visualization of ultrafast phenomena in nanoscale quantum materials via Ultrafast Transmission Electron Microscopy (UTEM), a novel technique able to provide simultaneous high spatial (nanometers) and temporal (femtoseconds) resolutions.

We operate the first Ultrafast TEM in Italy, where a femtosecond laser is coupled to a Transmission Electron Microscope to provide simultaneous high temporal (fs) and high spatial (< nm’s) resolutions. 

Because of the versatility of our cross-scale approach, which combines real-space (imaging) and reciprocal-space (diffraction) with high temporal resolution, the UTEM at LUMiNaD provides the unique capability of observing many fundamental phenomena, such as: 

i) the ultrafast dynamics of low-dimensional materials, 

ii) electronic/structural correlations under non-equilibrium conditions, 

iii) real-time evolution of nano-chemical and biophysical systems, 

iv) light-induced coherent modulation of a free-electron wavefunction, 

v) the electron/light/matter quantum interaction at sub-wavelength scales.