Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme
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HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik
HL 18: Focus Session: Nanoscale Light-matter Interaction I
HL 18.8: Talk
Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 12:45–13:00, H17
Light-matter interaction on subcycle time and atomic length scales — •Tom Siday1,2, Johannes Hayes1, Felix Schiegl1, Fabian Sandner1, Peter Menden1, Valentin Bergbauer1, Martin Zizlsperger1, Svenja Nerreter1, Sonja Lingl1, Jascha Repp1, Jan Wilhelm1, Markus A. Huber1, Yaroslav A. Gerasimenko1, and Rupert Huber1 — 1Department of Physics and Regensburg Center for Ultrafast Nanoscopy (RUN), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany — 2School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Near-field microscopy has revolutionized the study of nanoscale light-matter interaction, achieving subcycle temporal and ~10 nm spatial resolution. However, the geometry of the tip apex has so far restricted access to atomic resolution. By harnessing extreme nonlinearities within tip-confined evanescent light fields, we introduce a novel contrast mechanism, advancing all-optical microscopy to the atomic scale while preserving subcycle temporal resolution. This Near-field Optical Tunnelling Emission (NOTE) microscope can resolve nanometer-scale packing defects on a gold surface and trace the subcycle quantum flow of electrons between the scanning tip and a semiconducting van der Waals trilayer in real time. Moreover, NOTE microscopy is compatible with insulating samples, where rectified currents cannot flow, and enables the integration of all-optical subcycle spectroscopy with atomic-scale resolution. Thus, NOTE provides direct access to atomic-scale quantum light-matter interactions and dynamics on their natural spatial and temporal scales.
Keywords: Atomic resolution; All-optical; Subcycle; Nanoscopy; Near-field microscopy