arXiv subjects

I. Nikolov

Publications and source records attributed to I. Nikolov.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Transient laser-induced periodic surface structures revealed by time-resolved EUV diffuse scattering

The formation of permanent laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on solid surfaces under impulsive laser irradiation above the damage threshold has been subject of extensive research. We demonstrate the formation of transient surface displacement patterns under femtosecond laser irradiation at fluences well below this threshold. Time-resolved extreme ultraviolet scattering measurements reveal distinct reciprocal-space features similar to those observed for permanent LIPSS but dissipating on the hundreds-of-picoseconds time scale. We show that the transient surface displacement patterns responsible for these features are produced via thermal expansion by the spatial modulation of absorbed laser intensity caused by scattering of the laser radiation by surface roughness and present a model accounting for the experimental observations. We suggest that our experiment revealed a universal phenomenon that will be observed on any strongly absorbing material under ultrafast laser irradiation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Time-domain extreme ultraviolet diffuse scattering spectroscopy of nanoscale surface phonons

We report the observation of dynamic fringe patterns in the diffuse scattering of extreme ultraviolet light from surfaces, following femtosecond optical excitation. At each point on the detector, the diffuse scattering intensity exhibits oscillations at well-defined frequencies that correspond to surface phonons with wave vectors determined by the scattering geometry, indicating that the optical excitation generates coherent surface phonons propagating in all directions and spanning a wavelength range from 60 to 300 nm. This phenomenon is observed on a variety of samples, including single-layer and multilayer metal films, as well as bulk semiconductors. The measured surface phonon dispersions show good agreement with theoretical calculations. By comparing signal amplitudes from samples with different surface morphologies, we find that the excitation mechanism is linked to the natural surface roughness of the samples. However, the signal is still detectable on extremely smooth surfaces with sub-nanometer roughness. Our findings demonstrate a simple and effective method for optically exciting coherent surface phonons with nanoscale wavelengths on a wide range of solid samples and establish a foundation for surface phonon spectroscopy in a wave vector range well beyond the limit of conventional surface Brillouin scattering.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Adjustable coupling and in-situ variable frequency EPR probe with loop-gap resonators for spectroscopy up to X-band

In standard electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, the frequency of an experiment is set and the spectrum is acquired using magnetic field as the independent variable. There are cases in which it is desirable instead to fix the field and tune the frequency such as when studying avoided level crossings. We have designed and tested an adjustable frequency and variable coupling EPR probe with loop-gap resonators (LGRs) that works at a temperature down to 1.8 K. The frequency is tuned by adjusting the height of a dielectric piece of sapphire inserted into the gap of an LGR; coupling of the microwave antenna is varied with the height of antenna above the LGR. Both coupling antenna and dielectric are located within the cryogenic sample chamber, but their motion is controlled with external micrometers located outside the cryostat. The frequency of the LGR can be adjusted by more than 1 GHz. To cover a wide range of frequencies, different LGRs can be designed to cover frequencies up to X-band. We demonstrate the operation of our probe by mapping out avoided crossings for the Ni$_4$ single-molecule magnet to determine the tunnel splittings with high precision.

physics.app-ph↗