New Ultrafast Optical Probe
A new ultrafast optical probe could pave the way for petahertz electronics, revolutionizing the field of solid materials.
The Bandgap Property
The bandgap is a critical property that determines the behavior of solid materials, including whether they are insulators, conductors, or semiconductors.
The bandgap is the energy difference between the highest occupied electronic state (the valence band) and the lowest empty state (the conduction band), governing how materials interact with light and electricity.
Ultrafast Changes
When a material is hit with intense light, its bandgap can temporarily shrink or expand, but tracking these changes is a challenge due to their occurrence on ultrafast timescales of femtoseconds.
The bandgap determines whether a material is an insulator, a conductor, or a semiconductor, and it governs how the material interacts with light and electricity.
Author's summary: New probe enables petahertz electronics research.