• Frühling, U.; Wieland, M.; Gensch, M.; Gebert, T.; Schütte, B.; Krikunova, M.; Kalms, R.; Budzyn, F.; Grimm, O.; Rossbach, J.; Plönjes, E.; Drescher, M.: Single-shot terahertz-field-driven X-ray streak camera. Nature Photonics 3 (2009), p. 523-528

10.1038/NPHOTON.2009.160

Abstract:
A few-femtosecond X-ray streak camera has been realized using a pump-probe scheme that samples the transient response of matter to ionizing soft X-ray radiation in the presence of an intense synchronized terahertz field. Borrowing its concept from attosecond metrology, the femtosecond X-ray streak camera fills the gap between conventional streak cameras with typical resolutions of hundreds of femtoseconds and streaking techniques operating in the sub-femtosecond regime. Its single-shot capability permits the duration and time structure of individual X-ray pulses to be determined. For several classes of experiments in time-resolved spectroscopy, diffraction or imaging envisaged with novel accelerator-and laser-based short-pulse X-ray sources this knowledge is essential, but represents a major challenge to X-ray metrology. Here we report on the single-shot characterization of soft X-ray pulses from the free-electron laser facility FLASH.