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Updated: May 23, 2026

All-electronic Nanosecond-resolved Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Facilitating the Investigation of Single Dopant Charge Dynamics
Published on: January 19, 2018
Ultrafast soft-mode driven charge relocation in an ionic crystal
F Zamponi1, J Stingl, M Woerner
1Max-Born-Institut für Nichtlineare Optik und Kurzzeitspektroskopie, Max-Born-St. 2 a, Berlin, 12489, Germany.
Abstract:
Transient electron density maps of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH(2)PO(4), KDP) are derived from femtosecond X-ray powder diffraction patterns. Upon photoexcitation, the low-frequency TO soft mode is elongated impulsively and modulates the electronic charge distribution on the length scale of interatomic distances, much larger than the vibrational amplitude. The results demonstrate a charge transfer from the volumes around the P-atoms and K(+)-ions to those containing the O-HO units and a quadrupolar distortion of the K(+) charge distribution. This behavior reflects the interplay of nuclear motions and electric polarizations in the ionic crystal lattice.
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