Abstract

A femtosecond pump-probe setup is described that is optimised for broadband tran- sient reflectivity experiments on solid samples over a wide temperature range. By combining high temporal resolution and a broad detection window, this apparatus can investigate the interplay between coherent collective modes and high-energy electronic excitations, which is a distinctive characteristic of correlated electron sys- tems. Using a single-shot readout array detector at frame rates of 10kHz allows resolving coherent oscillations with amplitudes <10 4. We demonstrate its operation on the charge-transfer insulator La2CuO4, revealing coherent phonons with frequen- cies up to 13 THz and providing access into their Raman matrix elements.

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