Laser-induced ultrafast structural transformations in thin Fe layer revealed by time-resolved X-ray diffraction

O. Liubchenko; J. Antonowicz; K. Sokolowski-Tinten; P. Zalden; R. Minikayev; I. Milov; T. J. Albert; C. Bressler; M. Chojnacki; P. Dłużewski; P. Dzięgielewski; A. Rodriguez-Fernandez; K. Fronc; W. Gawelda; K. Georgarakis; A. L. Greer; I. Jacyna; R. W. E. van de Kruijs; R. Kamiński; D. Khakhulin; D. Klinger; K. Kosyl; K. Kubicek; A. Olczak; N. T. Panagiotopoulos; M. Sikora; P. Sun; H. Yousef; W. Zajkowska-Pietrzak; R. Sobierajski

arXiv · 2506.18730

Laser-induced ultrafast structural transformations in thin Fe layer revealed by time-resolved X-ray diffraction

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Abstract

The ultrafast structural response of a thin iron film to sub-ps pulsed laser-induced heating has been investigated using time-resolved X-ray diffraction in the partial melting regime. A tetragonal distortion of the bcc-phase emerges at ~6 ps. Its formation is delayed relative to the initial heating (1-2 ps) and partial melting (2-5 ps) of the material, and controlled by the stress release in the quasi-instantaneously pressurized film. The distortion persists for at least 60 ps indicating the formation of a metastable bct phase between the equilibrium bcc and fcc phases.

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O. Liubchenko, J. Antonowicz, K. Sokolowski-Tinten, P. Zalden, R. Minikayev, I. Milov, T. J. Albert, C. Bressler, M. Chojnacki, P. Dłużewski, P. Dzięgielewski, A. Rodriguez-Fernandez, K. Fronc, W. Gawelda, K. Georgarakis, A. L. Greer, I. Jacyna, R. W. E. van de Kruijs, R. Kamiński, D. Khakhulin, D. Klinger, K. Kosyl, K. Kubicek, A. Olczak, N. T. Panagiotopoulos, M. Sikora, P. Sun, H. Yousef, W. Zajkowska-Pietrzak, R. Sobierajski. 2025-06-23. Laser-induced ultrafast structural transformations in thin Fe layer revealed by time-resolved X-ray diffraction. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.18730

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