Non-equilibrium dynamics in functional materials

Speaker:  Andrej Singer, Cornell University

Program Description:
A significant challenge in modern materials science is characterizing processes at ultrasmall and ultrafast scales. Nanoscale phenomena are essential in manipulating energy (ionic systems) and processing information (electronic systems). X-rays are excellent probes of matter, and developments of an x-ray microscope date back to Röntgen and Bragg, who attempted to focus x-rays more than a century ago. However, it was not until the past decade that x-ray microscopy finally matured, combining superb spatial (sub-100 nm) and temporal (sub-1 ps) resolution. I will present recent developments in x-ray science and discuss how we apply advanced x-ray scattering and imaging techniques to a wide range of systems – spanning from “real” materials and devices in-operando to studies of fundamental interactions in strongly correlated electron systems. I will discuss operando imaging of ionic diffusion, line and planar defects in lithium(sodium)-ion energy storage, and photoinduced phase transformations in quantum materials.