Optical Time-Resolved Microscopy on Few-Atoms-Thick Materials

In the past decade, the emergence of ultrathin 2D films consisting of only a few atomic layers deposited on various substrates sparked new ideas and research. This Perspective provides a nonexhaustive review of utilizing ultrafast optical pump-probe microscopy and the models for fitting experimental data that emerged in the past few years. We will focus on retrieving optically induced modifications of material parameters from pump-probe data on 2D materials, involving the inversion of Maxwell’s equations and discussing new methods to localize optical interactions to capture the response of 2D films with increased resolution and sensitivity. These areas represent promising avenues for advancing our understanding of the dynamic behavior of ultrathin 2D films and their response to ultrafast optically induced transients.