ETH News

In the photoelectric effect, a photon ejects an electron from a material. Researchers at ETH have now used attosecond laser pulses to measure the time evolution of this effect in molecules. From their results they can deduce the exact location of a photoionization event. 

ETH researchers succeeded in shortening the pulse duration of an X‑ray laser to only 43 attoseconds. With a time resolution in the range of a few quintillionths of a second, they are now able for the first time to observe the movement of electrons during chemical reactions in slow motion.

Switzerland’s credentials as a research location have been enhanced with a major new facility: the SwissFEL X-ray free-electron laser was put into operation at the PSI yesterday. ETH researchers are among those expecting to use the system to gain insights into hitherto hidden processes at the molecular and atomic level.

Professor Ursula Keller’s area of expertise is ultrashort laser pulses. Together with her group at ETH, she is currently developing new metrology techniques and novel semiconductor lasers that might well find application in every household. Ursula Keller will be in California on 13 May 2015 to receive the renowned OSA Charles H. Townes Award in recognition of her achievements.