Indium-Doped ZnO Scintillator With 3-Ps Response Time for Accurate Synchronization of Optical and X-Ray Free Electron Laser Pulses

Accurate synchronization of pulses from an extreme ultraviolet free electron laser (EUV-FEL) and optical pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser is demonstrated. By using an indium (In)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) crystal, pulses from these sources can be synchronized with ~ 3 -ps accuracy, an improvement of over three orders of magnitude compared to the widely-used cerium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Ce:YAG) scintillator. This dramatic improvement in response time will be valuable for pump-probe experiments using FEL and other ultrafast sources, and is expected to create new possibilities for time-resolved short wavelength spectroscopy.