Investigation of superionic states in group-III oxides at European XFEL

Jaromír Chalupský from the Czech Academy of Sciences is researching a theoretically predicted superionic state in oxides such as Al2O3, Ga2O3 or In2O3 at the High Energy Density (HED) instrument. In these materials, the metallic atoms remain as a rigid lattice under extreme conditions, while the oxygen atoms can behave like a liquid. The substances thus can behave as an insulator, a semi-conductor or a metall. With the help of a pump-probe method, in which an X-ray pulse excites the sample and an immediately following X-ray pulse illuminates the sample, Chalupský is attempting to clearly detect and analyse this exotic state of matter at European XFEL.