Three-dimensional imaging of molecules in the gas phase has been an important but challenging task, since the randomly oriented molecules only provide one-dimensional structural information. In this work, we show that a three-dimensional structure can be reconstructed from ultrafast electron diffraction from impulsively laser-aligned molecules. The diffraction pattern is taken at the maximum degree of alignment, around two picoseconds after the excitation of the laser. An iterative retrieval algorithm is developed to resolve the problem generated by imperfect alignment and a holographic algorithm is used to reconstruct molecular structure.

Date Published: 28 September 2013
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 8845, Ultrafast Imaging and Spectroscopy, 884502 (28 September 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2023391

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8845:
Ultrafast Imaging and Spectroscopy
Zhiwen Liu, Editor(s)