Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Advanced Materials

Future technological progress relies on the development and functionality of advanced materials for applications in solar cells, optoelectronics or ultrafast data processing. However, in most cases the functionality of these devices is based on the structural and electronic properties of interfaces between different materials, which define the physical processes like the rate of charge or energy flow in the functional element. Naturally occurring on ultrafast timescales, a detailed understanding of the fundamental processes requires femtosecond (1 fs = 10^(-15) s) time-resolved spectroscopic techniques. In our lecture, we will introduce state-of-the-art ultrafast spectroscopic techniques based of fs  table-top and free-electron lasers. On this basis, we will present most recent progress in the understanding of non-equilibrium physics of advanced condensed matter systems, ranging from low-dimensional structures to inorganic/organic hybrid systems, and superconductors.