With the advent of control science, the current challenge is not only to observe matter on ever smaller scale but also to direct its functionality at the relevant length, time and energy scales. Light-driven transformations aim at forcing matter towards a new state. These phenomena occurring in multi-stable molecular materials involve different degrees of freedom at the molecular level (electronic and structural) as well as propagating or diffusive effects from inter-molecular to macroscopic scales (shockwave, thermal heating�).Understanding the physical mechanisms involved in the transformation induced by an ultra-short femtosecond laser pulse is only emerging. Parameters limiting the transformation speed can be identified thanks to the increase of sophisticated instrumentation in ultrafast science [1] such as femtosecond optical spectroscopy [2,3] and time-resolved X-ray diffraction or absorption [4,5]. We will present investigations of the photo-induced transformation pathway in spin-crossover molecular materials including coherent structural response. We will also present preliminary results of X-ray absorption spectroscopy with 100 fs resolution, obtained at the X-FEL LCLS in Stanford.

Photo-switching dynamics of spin-crossover molecules in crystals: Coherence and cooperativity

245th National Meeting (2013)

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