Max Born Institute Intranet

Dr. Clemens Korff Schmising, von

clemens.korffschmising(at)mbi-berlin.de
+49 30 6392 1372

B1: Electron and Spin Dynamics
Building B, 3.9

Position

Research

Our goal is to control fundamental quantum degrees of freedom, such as spin, orbital angular momentum, and polarization, using light-driven excitation techniques. Currently, we are focusing on ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic metallic thin films and multilayers, exploring how magnetic and chemical nanoscale inhomogeneities influence ultrafast spin dynamics and magnetic switching.

 To gain access to element-specific dynamics of magnetization, we develop and apply state-of-the-art spectroscopic probes in the extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray spectral ranges. Additionally, we use short-wavelength radiation and design plasmonic structures to confine optical excitation at the subwavelength scale, enabling control of magnetism at the nanoscale.

For further information, please refer to Project 3.2 Topic 1: Magnetism and transient electronic structure

Curriculum vitae

11/2015 - present: Scientist
Max-Born-Institute
Prof. Dr. Stefan Eisebitt

08/2011 - 11/2015: Postdoctoral Researcher
Technische Universität Berlin
Prof. Dr. Stefan Eisebitt

11/2008 - 07/2011: Postdoctoral Scholarship of the Swedish National Research Foundation
Lund University, Sweden
Prof. Dr. Jörgen Larsson & Prof. Dr. Matias Bargheer

02/2005 - 10/2008: Ph.D. Thesis: "Ultrafast X-ray Scattering in Condensed Matter"
Max-Born-Institute Berlin/Humboldt University Berlin, Dr. rer. nat.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Elsässer

04/2004 - 10/2004: Scientific Researcher
Optical Fibre Technology Centre Sydney, University of Sydney, Australia
Prof. Dr. Marianne Large

09/2000 - 12/2003: Diploma Thesis: "Holography in Lithium Niobate Crystals with Nano- and Femtosecond Light Pulses"
University Bonn, Germany
Prof. Dr. Karsten Buse

09/1999 - 06/2000: Physics studies (Erasmus)
St. Andrews University, Scotland

09/1997 - 08/1999: Physics studies (Vordiplom)
University of Bayreuth, Germany

Recent highlight(s)

MBI Publications

  1. Subwavelength localized all-optical Helicity-independent magnetic switching using plasmonic gold nanostructures

    T. P. H. Sidiropoulos, P. Singh, T. Noll, M. Schneider, D. Engel, D. Sommer, F. Steinbach, I. Will, B. Pfau, C. von Korff Schmising, Stefan Eisebitt

     Nano Letters 25 (2025) 4645–4651
  2. Defects in magnetic domain walls after single-shot all-optical switching

    D. Metternich, K. Litzius, S. Wintz, K. Gerlinger, S. Petz, D. Engel, T. Sidiropoulos, R. Battistelli, F. Steinbach, M. Weigand, S. Wittrock, C. von Korff Schmising, F. Büttner

     Structural Dynamics 12 (2025) 024504/1-10
  3. Femtosecond charge and spin dynamics in a Co50Pt50 alloy

    M. Pavelka, S. Marotzke, R.-P. Wang, M. F. Elhanoty, G. Brenner, S. Dziarzhytski, S. Jana, W. D. Engel, C. von Korff Schmising, D. Gupta, I. Vaskivskyi, T. Amrhein, N. Thielemann-Kühn, M. Weinelt, R. Knut, J. Rönsch-Schulenberg, E. Schneidmiller, C. Schüßler-Langeheine, M. Beye, Niko Pontius, O. Grånäs, H. A. Dürr

     Structural Dynamics 12 (2025) 024303/1-8
  4. First experiments with ultrashort, circularly polarized soft x-ray pulses at FLASH2

    S. Marotzke, D. Gupta, R.-P. Wang, M. Pavelka, S. Dziarzhytski, C. von Korff Schmising, S. Jana, N. Thielemann-Kühn, T. Amrhein, M. Weinelt, I. Vaskivskyi, R. Knut, D. Engel, M. Braune, M. Ilchen, S. Savio, T. Otto, K. Tiedtke, V. Scheppe, J. Rönsch-Schulenberg, E. Schneidmiller, C. Schüßler-Langeheine, H. A. Dürr, M. Beye, G. Brenner, N. Pontius

     Structural Dynamics 12 (2025) 034301/1-12
  5. Spectroscopic probe of ultrafast magnetization dynamics in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range

    J. Richter, S. Jana, R. Behrends, C. S. Davies, D. W. Engel, M. Hennecke, D. Schick, C. von Korff Schmising, S. Eisebitt

     Physical Review B 111 (2025) 214423/1-9
  6. Wavelength-dependent photodissociation of iodomethylbutane

    V. Music, F. Allum, L. Inhester, P. Schmidt, R. Boll, T. M. Baumann, G. Brenner, M. Brouard, M. Burt, P. V. Demekhin, S. Dörner, A. Ehresmann, A. Galler, P. Grychtol, D. Heathcote, D. Kargin, M. Larsson, J. W. L. Lee, Z. Li, B. Manschwetus, L. Marder, R. Mason, M. Meyer, H. Otto, C. Passow, R. Pietschnig, D. Ramm, D. Rolles, K. Schubert, L. Schwob, R. D. Thomas , C. Vallance, I. Vidanovic, C. von Korff Schmising, R. Wagner, V. Zhaunerchyk, P. Walter, S. Bari, B. Erk, M. Ilchen

     Scientific Reports 15 (2025) 20139 /1-13
  7. Transient domain boundary drives ultrafast magnetisation reversal

    M. Hennecke, D. Schick, T. P. H. Sidiropoulos, J.-X. Lin, Z. Guo, G. Malinowski, M. Mattern, L. Ehrentraut, M. Schmidbauer, M. Schnuerer, C. von Korff Schmising, S. Mangin, M. Hehn, S. Eisebitt

     Nature Communications 16 (2025) 8233/1-10
  8. Ultrafast opto-magnetic effects in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range

    M. Hennecke, C. von Korff Schmising, K. Yao, E. Jal, B. Vodungbo, V. Chardonnet, K. Légaré, F. Capotondi, D. Naumenko, E. Pedersoli, I. Lopez-Quintas, I. P. Nikolov, L. Raimondi, G. De Ninno, L. Salemi, S. Ruta, R. Chantrell, T. Ostler, B. Pfau, D. Engel, P. M. Oppeneer, S. Eisebitt, I. Radu

     Communications Physics 7 (2024) 191/1-8
  9. Coherent control of magnetization precession by doublepulse activation of effective fields from magnetoacoustics and demagnetization

    M. Mattern, F. C. Weber, D. Engel, C. von Korff Schmising, M. Bargheer

     Applied Physics Letters 24 (2024) 102402/1-7
  10. Direct versus indirect excitation of ultrafast magnetization dynamics in FeNi alloys

    C. von Korff Schmising, S. Jana, O. Zülich, D. Sommer, S. Eisebitt

     Physical Review Research 6 (2024) 013270/1-7

Other Publications

  • Nonlocal ultrafast demagnetization dynamics of Co/Pt multilayers by optical field enhancement 
    C. von Korff Schmising, M. Giovannella, D. Weder, S. Schaffert, J. Webb and S. Eisebitt
    New Journal of Physics, 17, 033047 (2015)
  • Dynamics and inertia of skyrmionic spin structures
    F. Büttner, C. Moutafis, M. Schneider, B. Krüger, C.M. Günther, J. Geilhufe, C. von Korff Schmising, J. Mohanty, B. Pfau, S. Schaffert, A. Biesig, M. Foerster, T. Schulz, C.A.F. Vaz, J.H. Franken, H.J.M. Swagten, M. Kläui, and S. Eisebitt
    Nature Physics, 11, 225 (2015)
  • Imaging ultrafast demagnetization dynamics after a spatially localized optical excitation 
    C. von Korff Schmising, B. Pfau, M. Schneider, C.M. Günther, M. Giovannella, J. Perron, B. Vodungbo, L. Müller, F. Capotondi, E. Pedersoli, N. Mahne, J. Lüning, and S. Eisebitt
    Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 217203 (2014)
  • udkm1Dsim-A simulation toolkit for 1D ultrafast dynamics in condensed matter
    D. Schick, A. Bojahr, M. Herzog, R. Shayduk, C. von Korff Schmising, M. Bargheer
    Comp. Commun. Phys., 185, 651-660 (2013)
  • Ultrafast dynamics of magnetic domain structures probed by coherent free-electron laser light 
    L. Müller, S. Schleitzer, C. Gutt, B. Pfau, S. Schaffert, J. Geilhufe, C. von Korff Schmising, M. Schneider, C. M. Günther, F. Büttner, F. Capotondi, E. Pedersoli, S. Düsterer, H. Redlin, A. Al-Shemmary, R. Treusch, J. Bach, R. Frömter, B. Vodungbo, J. Gautier, P. Zeitoun, H. Popescu, V. Lopez-Flores, N. Beaulieu, F. Sirotti, N. Jaouen, G. Malinowski, B. Tudu, K. Li, J. Lüning, H. P. Oepen, M. Kiskinova, S. Eisebitt and G. Grübel
    Sync. Rad. News, 26, 27-32 (2013)
  • Ultrafast reciprocal-space mapping with a convergent beam 
    D. Schick, R. Shayduk, A. Bojahr, M. Herzog, C. von Korff Schmising, P. Gaal and M. Bargheer
    J. Appl. Cryst., 46, 1372-1377 (2013)
  • High-resolution magnetic-domain imaging by Fourier transform holography at 21 nm wavelength 
    S. Schaffert, B. Pfau, J. Geilhufe, C. M Günther, M. Schneider, C. von Korff Schmising and S. Eisebitt
    New J. Phys. 15, 093042 (2013)
  • Magnetic states in low-pinning high-anisotropy material nanostructures suitable for dynamic imaging 
    F. Büttner, C. Moutafis, A. Bisig, P. Wohlhüter, C. M. Günther, J. Mohanty, J. Geilhufe, M. Schneider, C. v. Korff Schmising, S. Schaffert, B. Pfau, M. Hantschmann, M. Riemeier, M. Emmel, S. Finizio, G. Jakob, M. Weigand, J. Rhensius, J. H. Franken, R. Lavrijsen, H. J. M. Swagten, H. Stoll, S. Eisebitt, and M. Kläui
    Phys. Rev. B, 87, 134422 (2013)
  • The c-axis thermal conductivity of graphite film of nanometer thickness measuredby time resolved X-ray diffraction 
    M. Harb, C. von Korff Schmising, H. Enquist, A. Jurgilaitis, I. Maximov, P. V. Shvets, A. N. Obraztsov, D. Khakhulin, M. Wulff, and J. Larsson
    Appl. Phys. Lett., 101, 233108 (2012)
  • Holographically aided iterative phase retrieval 
    S. Flewett, C. M. Günther, C. von Korff Schmising, B. Pfau, J. Mohanty, F. Büttner, M. Riemeier, M. Hantschmann, M. Kläui, and S. Eisebitt
    Optics Express, 20, 29210 (2012)
  • Comparing the oscillation phase in optical pump-probe spectra to ultrafast x-ray diffraction 
    A. Bojahr, D. Schick, L. Maerten, M. Herzog, I. Vrejoiu, C. v. Korff Schmising, C. Milne, S. L. Johnson and M. Bargheer
    Phys. Rev. B, 85, 224302 (2012)
  • Normalization schemes for ultrafast x-ray diffraction using a table-top laser-driven plasma source 
    D. Schick, A. Bojahr, M. Herzog, C. von Korff Schmising, R. Shayduk, W. Leitenberger, P. Gaal and M. Bargheer
    Rev. Sci. Instrum., 83, 025104 (2012)
  • Analysis of ultrafast x-ray diffraction data in a linear-chain model of the lattice dynamics 
    M. Herzog, D. Schick, P. Gaal, R. Shayduk, C. von Korff Schmising and M. Bargheer
    Appl. Phys. A,106, 489-499 (2012)
  • Nanoscale heat transport studied by high-resolution time-resolved X-ray diffraction 
    R. Shayduka, H. Naviriana, W. Leitenbergerg, J. Goldshteyna, I. Vrejoiu, M. Weinelt, P. Gaal, M. Herzog, C. v. Korff Schmising and M. Bargheer
    New Journal of Physics, 15, 093032 (2011)
  • Picosecond dynamics of laser-induced strains in graphite 
    M. Harb, A. Jurgilaitis, H. Enquist, R. Nüske, C. v. Korff Schmising, J. Gaudin, S. L. Johnson, C. J. Milne, P. Beaud, E. Vorobeva, A. Caviezel, S. Mariager, G. Ingold, and J. Larsson
    Phys. Rev. B, 84, 045435 (2011)
  • Picosecond time-resolved x-ray refectivity of a laser-heated amorphous carbon film 
    R. Nüske, A. Jurgilaitis, H. Enquist, S. Dastjani Farahani, J. Gaudin, L. Guerin, M. Harb, C. v. Korff Schmising, M. Störmer, M. Wulff, and J. Larsson
    Appl. Phys Lett., 98, 101909 (2011)
  • Subpicosecond hard x-ray streak camera using single-photon counting 
    H. Enquist, H. Navirian, R. Nüske, C. v. Korff Schmising, A. Jurgilaitis, M. Herzog, M. Bargheer, P. Sondhauss, and J. Larsson
    Optics Letters, 35, 3219 (2010)
  • Acoustically driven ferroelastic domain switching observed by time-resolved x-ray diffraction 
    H. Navirian, H. Enquist, R. Nüske, A. Jurgilaitis, P. Sondhauss, C. v. Korff Schmising and J. Larsson
    Phys. Rev. B, 81, 024113 (2010)
  • Time-resolved x-ray scattering from laser-molten indium antimonide
    R. Nüske, C. v. Korff Schmising, A. Jurgilaitis, H. Enquist, H. Navirian, P. Sondhauss, and J. Larsson
    Review of Scientific Instruments, 81, 013106 (2010)
  • Rectangular-core microstructured polymer optical fibre for interconnect
    M. van Eijkelenborg, N. Issa, M. Hiscocks, C. v. Korff Schmising, R. Lwin
    Electronic Letters, 42, 201-202 (2006)
  • Long-living currents induced by nanosecond light pulses in LiNbO3 Crystals
    O. Beyer, C. v. Korff Schmising, M. Luennemann, K. Buse, B. Sturman
    Optics Express, 14, 1533-1540 (2006)
  • Femtosecond holography in lithium niobate crystals
    H.T. Hsieh, D. Psaltis, O. Beyer, D. Maxein, C.v. Korff Schmising, K. Buse, B. Sturmann
    Opt. Lett., 30, 2233-2235 (2005)