Ultrafast collective excitations and screening dynamics in correlated oxides at European XFEL

Using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy with soft X-ray light, Tommaso Pincelli from the Technical University Berlin leads an international team of scientists from Italy and Germany to decipher the dynamics of highly mobile charge carriers in modern materials. In particular, they explore the formation of a transient two-dimensional electron gas in zinc oxide, and the coupling between plasmons and excitons in a van der Waals metal/semiconductor heterostructure. This research aims at discovering photocatalytic materials and improving the energetic efficiency of electronic devices.