LCLS Soft X-ray Materials Science (SXR)
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Social Media: Highlights from Six Months of LCLS Experiments
Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to during the last experimental run – from June to November 2017 – at the Linac Coherent Light Source.
New X-Ray Laser Technique Reveals Magnetic Skyrmion Fluctuations
A new “two-bucket” method of delivering pairs of X-ray pulses gives a 1,000-fold improvement in seeing magnetic fluctuations that could lead to improved data storage materials.
A Single Electron’s Tiny Leap Sets Off ‘Molecular Sunscreen’ Response
A new X-ray laser technique allows scientists to home in on these single-electron triggers to better understand organic molecules that respond to light, including receptors in your eyes, plastic products and DNA building blocks that need to protect themselves from cancer-causing mutations.
Dawson Award Recognizes SLAC X-ray Laser Experiment that Probed 3.6-million-degree Matter
The 2010 experiment marked a significant step forward in understanding extreme states of matter at the hearts of stars, planets and nuclear fusion reactions.
Scientists Track Ultrafast Creation of a Catalyst with X-ray Laser
Researchers use X-ray laser at SLAC to track light-triggered chemical reactions in a molecule that serves as a simple model for the conversion of solar energy into fuel.
Scientists Get First Glimpse of a Chemical Bond Being Born
Scientists have used an X-ray laser at SLAC to get the first glimpse of the transition state where two atoms begin to form a weak bond on the way to becoming a molecule.
Scientists Use X-rays to Look at How DNA Protects Itself from UV Light
DNA’s molecular building blocks absorb ultraviolet light so strongly that sunlight should deactivate them – yet it doesn’t. A new SLAC study reveals details of a “relaxation response” that protects these molecules and the genetic information they encode.
Scientists Capture Ultrafast Snapshots of Light-driven Superconductivity
A new study, based on an experiment at SLAC's X-ray laser, pins down a major factor behind the appearance of superconductivity—the ability to conduct electricity with 100 percent efficiency—in a promising copper-oxide material.
X-ray Laser Sheds New Light on Quest for Faster Data Storage
An experiment at SLAC’s X-ray laser has revealed the first atomic-scale details of a new technique that could point the way to faster data storage in smartphones, laptops and other devices.
Speed Limit Set for Ultrafast Electrical Switch
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral. Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster, more powerful computing devices.
