@phdthesis{Pres2024, author = {Pres, Sebastian}, title = {Detection of a plasmon-polariton quantum wave packet by coherent 2D nanoscopy}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-34824}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-348242}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Plasmonic nanostructures are considered promising candidates for essential components of integrated quantum technologies because of their ability to efficiently localize broad-band electromagnetic fields on the nanoscale. The resulting local near field can be understood as a spatial superposition of spectrally different plasmon-polariton modes due to the spectrally broad optical excitation, and thus can be described as a classical wave packet. Since plasmon polaritons, in turn, can transmit and receive non-classical light states, the exciting question arises to what extent they have to be described as quantum mechanical wave packets, i.e. as a superposition of different quantum states. But how to probe, characterize and eventually manipulate the quantum state of such plasmon polaritons? Up to now, probing at room temperatures relied completely on analyzing quantum optical properties of the corresponding in-going and out-going far-field photon modes. However, these methods so far only allow a rather indirect investigation of the plasmon-polariton quantum state by means of transfer into photons. Moreover, these indirect methods lack spatial resolution and therefore do not provide on-site access to the plasmon-polariton quantum state. However, since the spectroscopic method of coherent two-dimensional (2D) nanoscopy offers the capability to follow the plasmon- polariton quantum state both in Hilbert space and in space and time domain a complete characterization of the plasmon polariton is possible. In this thesis a versatile coherent 2D nanoscopy setup is presented combining spectral tunability and femtosecond time resolution with spatial resolution on the nanometer scale due to the detection of optically excited nonlinear emitted electrons via photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). Optical excitation by amplitude- and phase-shaped, systematically-modified and interferometric-stable multipulse sequences is realized, and characterized via Fourier-transform spectral interferometry (FTSI). This linear technique enables efficient data acquisition in parallel to a simultaneously performed experiment. The full electric-field reconstruction of every generated multipulse sequence is used to analyze the effect of non-ideal pulse sequences on the two-dimensional spectral data of population-based multidimensional spectroscopy methods like, e.g., the coherent 2D nanoscopy applied in this thesis. Investigation of the spatially-resolved nonlinear electron emission yield from plasmonic gold nanoresonators by coherent 2D nanoscopy requires a quasi-particle treatment of the addressed plasmon-polariton mode and development of a quantum model to adequately describe the plasmon-assisted multi-quantum electron emission from nanostructures. Good agreement between simulated and experimental data enables to connect certain spectral features to superpositions of non-adjacent plasmon-polariton quantum states, i.e, non-adjacent occupation-number states of the underlying quantized, harmonic oscillator, thus direct probing of the plasmon-polariton quantum wave packet at the location of the nanostructure. This is a necessary step to locally control and manipulate the plasmon-polariton quantum state and thus of general interest for the realization of nanoscale quantum optical devices.}, subject = {Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Luettig2023, author = {L{\"u}ttig, Julian Konstantin}, title = {Coherent Higher-Order Spectroscopy: Investigating Multi-Exciton Interaction}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-29318}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-293182}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The goal of this thesis was the development and application of higher-order spectroscopic techniques. In contrast to ordinary pump-probe (PP) and two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy, higher-order coherently detected spectroscopic methods measure a polarization that has an order of nonlinearity higher than three. The key idea of the techniques in this thesis is to isolate the higher-order signals from the lower-order signals either by their excitation frequency or by their excitation intensity dependence. Due to the increased number of interactions in higher-order spectroscopy, highly excited states can be probed. For excitonic systems such as aggregates and polymers, the fifth-order signal allows one to directly measure exciton-exciton annihilation (EEA). In polymers and aggregates, the exciton transport is not connected to a change of the absorption and can therefore not be investigated with conventional third-order techniques. In contrast, EEA can be used as a probe to study exciton diffusion in these isonergetic systems. As a part of this thesis, anisotropy in fifth-order 2D spectroscopy was investigated and was used to study geometric properties in polymers. In 2D spectroscopy, the multi-quantum signals are separated from each other by their spectral position along the excitation axis. This concept can be extended systematically to higher signals. Another approach to isolate multi-quantum signals in PP spectroscopy utilizes the excitation intensity. The PP signal is measured at specific excitation intensities and linear combinations of these measurements result in different signal contributions. However, these signals do not correspond to clean nonlinear signals because the higher-order signals contaminate the lower-order multi-quantum signals. In this thesis, a correction protocol was derived that uses the isolated multiquantum signals, both from 2D spectroscopy and from PP spectroscopy, to remove the contamination of higher-order signals resulting in clean nonlinear signals. Using the correction on the third-order signal allows one to obtain annihilation-free signals at high excitation intensities, i.e., with high signal-to-noise ratio. Isolation and correction in PP and 2D spectroscopy were directly compared by measuring the clean third-order signals of squaraine oligomers at high excitation intensities. Furthermore, higher-order PP spectroscopy was used to isolate up to the 13th nonlinear order of squaraine polymers. The demonstrated spectroscopic techniques represent general procedures to isolate clean signals in terms of perturbation theory. The technique of higher-order PP spectroscopy needs only small modifications of ordinary PP setups which opens the field of higher-order spectroscopy to the broad scientific community. The technique to obtain clean nonlinear signals allows one to systematically increase the number of interacting (quasi)particles in a system and to characterize their interaction energies and dynamics.}, subject = {Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Mueller2022, author = {M{\"u}ller, Stefan}, title = {Coherent Multiple-Quantum Multidimensional Fluorescence Spectroscopy}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-24411}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-244113}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This thesis describes novel concepts for the measurement of the static and dynamic properties of the electronic structure of molecules and nanocrystals in the liquid phase by means of coherent fluorescence-detected spectroscopy in two and three frequency dimensions. These concepts are based on the systematic variation ("phase cycling") of a sequence of multiple time-delayed femtosecond excitation pulses in order to decode a multitude of novel nonlinear signals from the resulting phase-dependent fluorescence signal. These signals represent any permutation of correlations between zero-, one-, two-, and three-quantum coherences. To this end, two new phase-cycling schemes have been developed which can simultaneously resolve and discriminate several nonlinear signals of sixth order, including those of the fourth order of nonlinearity. By means of the sixth-order signals recorded in this work, static properties of highly excited electronic states in molecules such as their energies, transition dipole moments, and relative displacement of electronic potential surfaces, as well as dynamic properties in terms of their relaxation kinetics, can be ascertained. Furthermore, it was shown that these signals are suitable for the characterization of exciton-exciton correlations in colloidal quantum dots and for the measurement of ultrafast exciton-exciton annihilation in molecular aggregates. The experiments performed in this thesis mark an important step towards the complete characterization of the nonlinear response of quantum systems. In view of this, the concept of fluorescence-detected multiple-quantum coherence multidimensional spectroscopy introduced here offers a unified, systematic approach. In virtue of the technical advantages such as the use of a single excitation beam and the absence of nonresonant contributions, the measurement protocols developed here can be directly transferred to other incoherent observables and to sample systems in other states of matter. Furthermore, the approaches presented here can be systematically extended to higher frequency dimensions and higher orders of nonlinearity.}, subject = {Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Goetz2019, author = {G{\"o}tz, Sebastian Reinhold}, title = {Nonlinear spectroscopy at the diffraction limit: probing ultrafast dynamics with shaped few-cycle laser pulses}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-19213}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-192138}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2019}, abstract = {An experimental setup for probing ultrafast dynamics at the diffraction limit was developed, characterized and demonstrated in the scope of the thesis, aiming for optical investigations while simultaneously approaching the physical limits on the length and timescale. An overview of this experimental setup was given in Chapter 2, as well as the considerations that led to the selection of the individual components. Broadband laser pulses with a length of 9.3 fs, close to the transform limit of 7.6 fs, were focused in a NA = 1.4 immersion oil objective, to the diffraction limit of below 300 nm (FWHM). The spatial focus shape was characterized with off-resonance gold nanorod scatterers scanned through the focal volume. For further insights into the functionality and limitations of the pulse shaper, its calibration procedure was reviewed. The deviations between designed and experimental pulse shapes were attributed to pulse-shaper artifacts, including voltage-dependent inter-layer as well as intra-layer LCD-pixel crosstalk, Fabry-P{\´e}rot-type reflections in the LCD layers, and space-time coupling. A pixel-dependent correction was experimentally carried out, which can be seen as an extension of the initial calibration to all possible voltage combinations of the two LCD layers. The capabilities of the experimental setup were demonstrated in two types of experiments, targeting the nonlinearity of gold (Chapter 3) as well as two-dimensional spectroscopy at micro-structured surfaces (Chapter 4). Investigating thin films, an upper bound for the absolute value for the imaginary part of the nonlinear refractive index of gold could be set to |n′′ 2 (Au)| < 0.6·10-16 m2/W, together with |n′ 2 (Au)| < 1.2·10-16 m2/W as an upper bound for the absolute value of the real part. Finite-difference time-domain simulations on y-shaped gold nanostructures indicated that a phase change of ∆Φ ≥ 0.07 rad between two plasmonic modes would induce a sufficient change in the spatial contrast of emission to the far-field to be visible in the experiment. As the latter could not be observed, this value of ∆Φ was determined as the upper bound for the experimentally induced phase change. An upper bound of 52 GW/cm2 was found for the damage threshold. In Chapter 4, a novel method for nonlinear spectroscopy on surfaces was presented. Termed coherent two-dimensional fluorescence micro-spectroscopy, it is capable of exploring ultrafast dynamics in nanostructures and molecular systems at the diffraction limit. Two-dimensional spectra of spatially isolated hotspots in structured thin films of fluorinated zinc phthalocyanine (F16ZnPc) dye were taken with a 27-step phase-cycling scheme. Observed artifacts in the 2D maps were identified as a consequence from deviations between the desired and the experimental pulse shapes. The optimization procedures described in Chapter 2 successfully suppressed the deviations to a level where the separation from the nonlinear sample response was feasible. The experimental setup and methods developed and presented in the scope of this thesis demonstrate its flexibility and capability to study microscopic systems on surfaces. The systems exemplarily shown are consisting of metal-organic dyes and metallic nanostructures, represent samples currently under research in the growing fields of organic semiconductors and plasmonics.}, subject = {Ultrakurzzeitspektroskopie}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Roeding2018, author = {R{\"o}ding, Sebastian}, title = {Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy in Molecular Beams and Liquids Using Incoherent Observables}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-156726}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war die Umsetzung einer experimentellen Herangehensweise, welche die koh{\"a}rente zweidimensionale (2D) Spektroskopie an Proben in unterschiedlichen Aggregatzust{\"a}nden erm{\"o}glicht. Hierzu wurde zun{\"a}chst ein Aufbau f{\"u}r fl{\"u}ssige Proben realisiert, in welchem die emittierte Fluoreszenz als Messsignal zur Aufnahme der 2D Spektren genutzt wird. Im Gegensatz zu dieser bereits etablierten Methode in der fl{\"u}ssigen Phase stellt die in dieser Arbeit außerdem vorgestellte 2D Spektroskopie an gasf{\"o}rmigen Proben in einem Molekularstrahl einen neuen Ansatz dar. Hierbei werden zum ersten Mal Kationen mittels eines Flugzeitmassenspektrometers als Signal verwendet und somit ionen-spezifische 2D Spektren isolierter Molek{\"u}le erhalten. Zus{\"a}tzlich zu den experimentellen Entwicklungen wurde in dieser Arbeit ein neues Konzept zur Datenerfassung in der 2D Spektroskopie entworfen, welches mit Hilfe einer optimierten Signalabtastung und eines Compressed-Sensing Rekonstruktionsalgorithmus die Aufnahmezeit der Daten deutlich reduziert. Charakteristisch f{\"u}r die in dieser Arbeit eingesetzte Variante der 2D Spektroskopie ist die Verwendung einer phasenkoh{\"a}renten Sequenz bestehend aus vier Laserimpulsen in einer kollinearen Laserstrahlgeometrie zur Anregung der Probe. Diese Impulssequenz wurde durch einen Laserimpulsformer erzeugt, der durch {\"A}nderung der relevanten Laserimpulsparameter mit der Wiederholrate des Lasers eine schnelle Datenerfassung erm{\"o}glicht. Die Antwort der Probe auf diese Anregung wurde durch inkoh{\"a}rente Observablen gemessen, welche proportional zur Population des angeregten Zustandes sind, wie zum Beispiel Fluoreszenz oder Ionen. Um aus diesem Signal w{\"a}hrend der Datenanalyse die gew{\"u}nschten nichtlinearen Beitr{\"a}ge zu extrahieren, wurde die Messung mit verschiedenen Kombinationen der relativen Phase zwischen den Laserimpulsen wiederholt ("Phase Cycling"). Der Aufbau zur 2D Spektroskopie in fl{\"u}ssiger Phase mit Fluoreszenz-Detektion wurde an Hand von 2D Spektren des Laserfarbstoffes Cresyl Violett charakterisiert. Hierbei wurden Oszillationen in verschiedenen Bereichen des 2D Spektrums beobachtet, welche durch vibronische Koh{\"a}renzen hervorgerufen werden und mit fr{\"u}heren Beobachtungen in der Literatur {\"u}bereinstimmen. Mit dem gleichen Datensatz wurde im n{\"a}chsten Schritt das neue Konzept zur optimierten Datenerfassung demonstriert. Um ein optimiertes Schema f{\"u}r die Signalabtastung zu finden, wurde ein genetischer Algorithmus implementiert, wobei nur ein Viertel der eigentlichen Datenpunkte zur Messwerterfassung verwendet werden sollte. Dies reduziert die Zeitdauer der Datenerfassung auf ein Viertel der urspr{\"u}nglichen Messzeit. Die Rekonstruktion des vollst{\"a}ndigen Signales erfolgte mit Hilfe einer neuartigen, kompakten Darstellung von 2D Spektren basierend auf der von Neumann Basis. Diese Herangehensweise ben{\"o}tigte im Vergleich zur {\"u}blicherweise verwendeten Fourier Basis nur ein Sechstel der Koeffizienten um das Signal vollst{\"a}ndig darzustellen und erm{\"o}glichte so die erfolgreiche Rekonstruktion der Oszillationen in Cresyl Violett aus einem reduzierten Datensatz. Mit Hilfe der neuartigen koh{\"a}renten 2D Spektroskopie an Molekularstrahlen wurden {\"U}berg{\"a}nge von hoch angeregten Rydberg-Zust{\"a}nden ins ionische Kontinuum in Stickstoffdioxid untersucht. Als dominierender Beitrag stellte sich hierbei der {\"U}bergang in auto-ionisierende Zust{\"a}nde heraus. Ein wesentlicher Vorteil der Datenerfassung {\"u}ber ein Flugzeitmassenspektrometer ist die M{\"o}glichkeit der gleichzeitigen Aufnahme von 2D Spektren der Edukte und Produkte einer chemischen Reaktion. Dies wurde in Experimenten zur Mehrphotonenionisation gezeigt, in denen deutliche Unterschiede in den 2D Spektren des Stickstoffdioxid-Kations und des Stickstoffmonoxid-Fragmentes sichtbar wurden, welche auf unterschiedliche Antwortfunktionen zur{\"u}ckzuf{\"u}hren sind. Die in dieser Arbeit entwickelten experimentellen Techniken erm{\"o}glichen die schnelle Aufnahme von 2D Spektren f{\"u}r Proben in unterschiedlichen Aggregatzust{\"a}nden und erlauben einen zuverl{\"a}ssigen, direkten Vergleich der Ergebnisse. Sie sind deshalb ein Wegbereiter f{\"u}r zuk{\"u}nftige Untersuchungen der Eigenschaften quantenmechanischer Koh{\"a}renzen in photophysikalischen Prozessen oder w{\"a}hrend photochemischer Reaktionen in unterschiedlichen Aggregatzust{\"a}nden.}, subject = {Femtosekundenspektroskopie}, language = {en} }