Probing Laser-Driven Structure Formation at Extreme Scales in Space and Time

Irradiation of solid surfaces with high intensity, ultrashort laser pulses triggers a variety of secondary processes that can lead to the formation of transient and permanent structures over a large range of length scales from mm down to the nano-range. One of the most prominent examples are LIPSS - Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures. While LIPSS have been a scientific evergreen for of almost 60 years, experimental methods that combine ultrafast temporal with the required nm spatial resolution have become available only recently with the advent of short pulse, short wavelength free electron lasers. Here, the current status and future perspectives in this field are discussed by exploiting the unique possibilities of these 4th-generation light sources to address by time-domain experimental techniques the fundamental LIPSS-question, namely why and how laser irradiation can initiate the transition of a "chaotic" (rough) surface from an aperiodic into a periodic structure. The formation of (periodic) nano-scale structures on solid surfaces upon intense laser irradiation is a ubiquitous phenomenon. The involved processes cover many orders of magnitude in space and time, which makes their investigation challenging. This Perspective article highlights the unique possibilities of 4th-generation (XFEL) light sources to push the limits of probing these phenomena to extreme temporal and spatial scales. image