A new type of laser spectroscopy that enables researchers to capture molecular interfaces with unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution and in a non-invasive manner – that is the research objective of Prof. Dr. Andrea Trabattoni, for which he has now received an ERC Starting Grant. The European Research Council awards Starting Grants of up to 1.5 million euros each to outstanding early-career researchers with excellent and visionary project ideas. The aim is to foster scientific independence by enabling them to establish their own research group over a period of up to five years. Researchers with two to seven years of experience since completion of their doctoral degree are eligible to apply.
Trabattoni is a Helmholtz junior research group leader at DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) and a junior professor in the field of ultra-fast photoelectron research at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH), where he works with the Ultra-Fast Laser Lab at the Institute of Quantum Optics, a vital element of the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD. He has acquired an ERC grant for his project “SoftMeter”.
“The real-time interrogation of molecular electronics at the interface between different media is essential in order to understand the fundamental mechanisms at the basis of processes such as catalysis, solar energy harvesting or charge transport in optoelectronic devices”, explains Trabattoni. Such an investigation requires attosecond temporal resolution and picometer spatial accuracy. Conventional spectroscopy methods are not suitable for this. “SoftMeter aims to fill this gap”, says Trabattoni. Trabattoni and his team investigate a novel multi-messenger two-colour spectroscopy, which converts strong electric fields into weak ones while still providing an unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution. “SoftMeter will pave the way for a new class of ultra-fast laser spectroscopy experiments, with a significant impact on several disciplines – from photo-chemistry to biology or from energetics to environmental science”, anticipates Trabattoni.
