Femtosecond photoelectron diffraction: a new approach to image molecular structure during photochemical reactions

Continuing technical advances in the creation of (sub-) femtosecond VUV and X-ray pulses with Free-Electron Lasers and laser-based high-harmonic-generation sources have created new opportunities for studying ultrafast dynamics during chemical reactions. Here, we present an approach to image the geometric structure of gas-phase molecules with fewfemtosecond temporal and sub-Ångström spatial resolution using femtosecond photoelectron diffraction. This technique allows imaging the molecules “from within” by analyzing the diffraction of inner-shell photoelectrons that are created by femtosecond VUV and X-ray pulses. Using pump-probe schemes, ultrafast structural changes during photochemical reactions can thus be directly visualized with a temporal resolution that is only limited by the pulse durations of the pump and the probe pulse and the synchronization of the two light pulses. Here, we illustrate the principle of photoelectron diffraction using a simple, geometric scattering model and present results from photoelectron diffraction experiments on laser-aligned molecules using X-ray pulses from a Free-Electron Laser.