A UKP3.5 million research grant from the UK Research Councils' Basic Technology Programme announced today has been awarded to a team of scientists to develop and build the first attosecond laser system capable of freeze-framing and controlling the motion of electrons.
Researchers hope that the attosecond system will reveal fundamental insights into atomic behaviour and may eventually lead to new applications in molecular and surface sciences, nano-scale and biological structures.
Because electrons are so light they move extremely quickly and their motion is measured in units of time called attoseconds. One attosecond is one billion-billionth of a second, and an electron orbits a hydrogen atom in just 24 attoseconds, or 24 billion-billionths of a second.
To capture the electron in motion the researchers will build a system to produce pulses of light lasting attoseconds. These pulses will then be strobed on to atoms in order to 'freeze' their electrons in motion.
"If you want to see a bullet ripping through a tomato you need to have a microsecond strobe to freeze the motion of the projectile," said Dr John Tisch, Project Manager based at Imperial College London. "We want to see electron motion and for that we need attosecond resolution. Without attosecond probes, the electron motion would be just a 'blur'."
Electrons are behind all the fundamental processes in chemistry, biology and material sciences as they make all the 'bonds' in matter, joining atoms together to form larger systems like molecules.
"Changes in materials - be they molecules, solids or living tissue - can all be traced back to rearrangement of these bonding electrons," said Professor Jon Marangos, Project Coordinator based at Imperial. "Attosecond pulses will give us the ability, for the first time, to measure and probe these very fast changes and shed new light on the dynamic processes that occur on this unexplored timescale."
Currently the shortest measured laser pulse is around 4 femtoseconds (4000 attoseconds) and the shortest light pulses measured are around 600 attoseconds.
The planned length of the pulses in the UK attosecond system, generated using a technique known as high harmonic generation, will be about 200 attoseconds.
The award is made to a collaboration of groups led by Dr Tisch and Professor Marangos from the Department of Physics at Imperial College London.
The group comprises researchers from Imperial, Kings College London, and the universities of Oxford, Reading, Birmingham, Newcastle and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire.
The groups will each build separate components and the final working system will be assembled and operated at Imperial College by 2005.
In total over 30 scientists are expected to contribute to the project, which will last for four years.
The overall cost of the project is UKP3.5 million, approximately half to be spent on equipment and half for research staff.
For more information please contact:
Dr. John Tisch
Project Manager, Imperial College London
Tel: +44-0-20-7594-7710
Email: john.tisch@imperial.ac.uk
Professor Jon Marangos
Project Coordinator, Imperial College London
Tel: +44-0-20-7594-7857
Email: j.marangos@imperial.ac.uk
Tom Miller
Imperial College London Press Office
Tel: +44-0-20-7594-6704
Mob: +44-0-7803-886248
Email: t.miller@imperial.ac.uk
Notes to Editors:
Attosecond technology team members: Dr. John W.G. Tisch (Imperial College London), Project Manager Prof. Jon P. Marangos (Imperial College London), Project Coordinator Prof. Peter L. Knight FRS (Imperial College London), Dr. Roland A.Smith (Imperial College London), Dr. Ian N. Ross (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire) Prof. M. Henry.R. Hutchinson (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire) Prof. Richard E. Palmer (University of Birmingham), Dr. Q.Guo (University of Birmingham), Dr. Leszek J. Frasinski (University of Reading), Professor Helen H. Fielding (Kings College London), Dr. Gareth Roberts (University of Newcastle), Prof. Ian A. Walmsley (University of Oxford), Prof. Keith Burnett FRS (University of Oxford).
About the Basic Technology Programme
Seven projects worth UKP21 million in total won funding under the second round of the Basic Technology Programme run by Research Councils UK.
The Programme's main purpose is to support the development of fundamental new technology that will apply to the entire scope of scientific, engineering and technology endeavour in the next 10 to 20 years. http://www.research-councils.ac.uk/basictech/.
About Imperial College London
Consistently rated in the top three UK university institutions, Imperial College London is a world leading science-based university whose reputation for excellence in teaching and research attracts students (10,000) and staff (5,000) of the highest international quality.
Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that enhance the quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture. Website: http://www.imperial.ac.uk.