Course abstract

The course introduces students to laser spectroscopy, with an emphasis on ultrafast spectroscopy. It deals with findamentals of instrumentation, data analysis and contemporary research in the field. The syllabus is as follows: Basics. Electronic absorption, fluorescence and phosphorescence. Fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes. Solvent effects. FRET, fluorescence anisotropy. Tools. Fundamentals of instrumentation. Photon counting vs. analog detection. Time correlated single photon counting, Fluorescence upconversion, Transient absorption, Stimulated Raman spectroscopy. Temperature and pH jump experiments. Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy. Applications. Ultrafast dynamics of the chemical bond, Solvation dynamics, Ultrafast dynamics of aqueous systems, Photoisomerization, Light harvesting antennae, Protein folding, Time resolved spectroscopic techniques in DNA sequencing, Ultrafast dynamics in nanomaterials and other novel fluorophores, Photoinduced electron transfer dynamics in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells. Time and space resolved spectroscopy of perovskites.