Time-resolved time-of-flight ARPES with fs-XUV radiation (METIS 1000)
The METIS 1000 is a state-of-the-art time-of-flight (ToF) momentum microscope for time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (trARPES). Operated in combination with a high-power femtosecond laser system and a high-harmonic-generation (HHG) XUV source, METIS 1000 constitutes the second time-resolved ARPES beamline within the Cinchetti group.
Instrument concept
Unlike conventional hemispherical electron analyzers, METIS 1000 employs a time-of-flight detection principle. Here, the kinetic energy of photoelectrons is determined from their flight time through a field-free drift region rather than via energy-dependent electrostatic deflection. This approach enables highly efficient, parallel detection of electronic states.
For every detected photoelectron, METIS 1000 simultaneously records:
- the full two-dimensional in-plane momentum (kx, ky), and
- the electron flight time, from which the kinetic energy is obtained.
As a result, complete band-structure information in energy–momentum space is acquired in a single measurement, making the system ideally suited for ultrafast studies of non-equilibrium electronic phenomena.
Scientific scope
METIS 1000 is designed for experiments on quantum materials where electronic structure, correlations, and dynamics evolve on femtosecond timescales. Current research focuses in particular on two-dimensional magnetic semiconductors, where time-resolved ARPES provides direct insight into ultrafast charge, spin, and orbital dynamics.
To enable such studies, dedicated sample-preparation protocols have been developed to mitigate charging effects that are commonly encountered in semiconducting and insulating layered materials.
Recent results
A representative example of ongoing work performed with METIS 1000 is reported in:
2D Materials 11, 035010 (2025) DOI: 10.1088/2053-1583/add7ea
This study demonstrates the capability of the instrument to resolve the electronic structure of two-dimensional magnetic semiconductor layers and highlights the importance of optimized preparation strategies for reliable time-resolved photoemission measurements.
