Placement Information

Year you started your placement
2018

Placement period
May – August, September – December

Supervisor’s name
Stefan Kaiser

Project Details

Overview
The ultrafast solid state spectroscopy group at Max Planck Institute uses nonlinear optical methods to study dynamics of solid-state materials. One of the methods used by the group is pump-probe spectroscopy. In pump-probe spectroscopy the sample is excited by a stronger (pump) beam and optical changes in the sample are monitored using a weaker (probe) beam by changing the time-delay between pulses from the two beams.

Project objectives
My main project was to build a fast-scan pump-probe reflectivity setup and use it to characterize phonon oscillations in excitonic materials. We wanted to build the setup because of the faster data acquisition and higher resolution that it provides compared to delay-stage pump-probe. This is especially important because while the delay stage provides enough resolution to see the change in reflectivity of materials such as WSe2 due to pumping, it doesn’t provide high enough resolution to see the phonon oscillations.

Research outcomes
I have built and calibrated the fast-scan pump-probe reflectivity setup. The new setup can acquire data more than 8 times faster than the delay-stage setup and with better resolution. I have been able to use the setup to measure reflectivity changes in samples such as Ca2RuO4 and GaAs and have also seen phonon oscillations in in the 1-5THz range for Bi2Se3. We also used the setup to study the fluence dependence of Bi2Se3 signals.

Project status
Completed

AnitaMahinpei_2018_Presentation

My Co-op Experience at MPI/ UTokyo

Why did you apply for this placement?
As a Physics and Computer Science student, I don’t have a lot of elective course options since I have to take the core courses necessary for both departments. This placement was ideal for me as it would introduce me to the field of optics and condensed matter so that I would be able to better understand my interests and choose the upper year courses that suit my interests and career goals better.
Working at Max Planck Institute would have also been a great way for me to be exposed to international research and experience living in another country before applying to grad schools abroad.

What recommendations do you have for students who wish to participate in this exchange program?

There were a lot of different placements available at different MPI centers in Germany. Read more about the group that you want to potentially work with on their website so that you better understand the dynamics of the group and their research. You can also get in touch with members of the group or previous interns to figure out which placement would be best for you.
If you end up going to MPI at Stuttgart, they offer free courses in German. The courses start in March and September. When you arrive in May, you will have missed 2 months of the March-to-August session but you can still attend the rest of the course. At the start, the course was very relaxed and slow-paced, so even if you don’t know any German you can quickly catch up.

Tell us about your travels and cultural experiences
It is very easy and cheap to travel in Europe. During the summer time, I traveled a lot by FlixBus over the weekends. It is also easy to find cheap flights under 50 euros as long as you plan ahead. I traveled to quite a few cities and towns in Germany. I would say Hamburg and Berlin are the two must-see German cities. I’d never been to Europe so I mostly travelled to the bigger tourist cities. I really enjoyed Italy and Spain because of the food, culture, and history.
If you are planning to go to places like Rome, Madrid, or Lisbon, I’d highly recommend going sometime in September or early November. The weather is much nicer and there aren’t as many tourists. Also make sure you look into what potential discounts you might get before travelling so that you bring the documents that you need. In Paris, for example, you can go to almost every tourist attraction for free as a resident of EU under 26 years old.

Budapest
Dublin
Prague