University of Arizona
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ, United States
Dr. Mohammed Hassan is an Associate Professor of Physics and Optical Sciences at The University of Arizona (UA). He earned his Ph.D. from the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Munich, Germany, in 2013, working in the research group of Prof. Ferenc Krausz (Nobel Laureate, 2023). He then joined the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as a postdoctoral scholar in the group of Prof. Ahmed H. Zewail (Nobel Laureate, 1999), where he conducted research until 2017.
Dr. Hassan is widely recognized for pioneering the field of attosecond electron microscopy, introducing the "Attomicroscope"—the world's fastest electron microscope capable of imaging electron motion in real time. This revolutionary tool has opened a new frontier in ultrafast imaging, enabling direct visualization of electron behavior in solid-state materials and advancing quantum science.
Dr. Hassan group developed the first petahertz quantum phototransistor, capable of switching on and off in just 630 attoseconds—a speed equivalent to 1.6 petahertz, or over a million billion times per second. This unprecedented speed was demonstrated using a novel graphene-silicon-graphene (Gr-Si-Gr) transistor structure, marking a significant leap toward the future of ultrafast light-driven electronics.
Most recently, Dr. Hassan has demonstrated all-optical switching and quantum current switching on the attosecond timescale, setting a new world record for switching speed. Leveraging his expertise in light field synthesis, he has also developed methods to digitally encode data onto ultrafast laser pulses. Additionally, he has introduced novel methodologies for sampling ultrafast laser light fields and measuring electronic response delays in neutral matter.
His research group has also achieved a significant milestone in ultrafast quantum optics by demonstrating amplitude-squeezed quantum light, which he has applied to developing highly secure, high-speed quantum communication technologies.
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Attomicroscopy imaging of electron motion in action
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
2:00 PM - 2:15 PM MT