Charge Transport on Ultra‐short Length and Time Scales

The objective of this seminar is to unite experts and methodologies for imaging light-matter interactions on length scales that are subject to quantum effects with techniques that probe such interactions in time domains of femtoseconds or faster. A particular focus will be on the interaction of photons with electrons, and how their behavior can be manipulated. Another important field are interfaces where electromagnetic radiation can invoke strong quantum-mechanical effects. Examples for this are superconductivity, field emission, circularly polarized luminescence and exciton diffusion. Understanding these effects requires highly specialized techniques that overcome the particular challenges inherent to studying charge carrier motion with femto- or attosecond time resolution and at the atomic scale. The seminar will detail how advances in electron microscopy, intense and ultrashort lightsources, X-ray lasers and diffractometers as well as new computational tools such as theoretical spectroscopy and machine learning models are exploited to achieve this level of spatial and temporal control. With these methods, it is now possible to gain a greatly more detailed understanding of the central light-matter interactions in device applications such as solar cells, 3D printers, quantum computers, light-emitting diodes, lasers, photodetectors and sensors. By bringing together experts from physics, chemistry, and materials science, the seminar aims to identify how the advances in computational strategies, time resolution and spatial control can be unified for a joint effort to excel in the above-mentioned applications. This will be realized through a combination of 10 distinguished keynote lectures and 16 contributed talks. Each day will conclude with a panel discussion featuring speakers from the keynote lectures to summarize major discussion points, provide expert commentary, and inspire further dialogue. An important non-scientific topic will be the future of open data policies and how the enormous amount of scientific data generated world-wide can be shared and accessed in a synergistic and productive way to enable new developments.

The conference language will be English. The Wilhelm and Else Heraeus-Foundation bears the cost of full-board accommodation for all participants.