LCLS X-ray Pump Probe (XPP)

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February 14, 2022
News Feature
A new way to shape a material’s atomic structure with ultrafast laser light
X-ray laser experiments show that intense light distorts the structure of a thermoelectric material in a unique way, opening a new avenue for controlling the properties of materials.
Illustration shows two ball-and-stick molecules in pink and red separated by a blurred streak representing how the first structure is slightly deformed into the second.
January 4, 2021
News Feature
First glimpse of polarons forming in a promising next-gen energy material
These fleeting disruptions, seen for the first time in lead hybrid perovskites, may help explain why these materials are exceptionally good at turning sunlight into electrical current in solar cells.
An illustration shows polarons as bubbles of distortion in a perovskite lattice
December 17, 2020
News Feature
Physicists solve chicken-and-egg question at the heart of photomagnetism
The results, which show that ultrafast atomic motions are the first step in forming a magnetic state, could lead to faster and more efficient data storage devices.
Charge transfer
March 18, 2020
News Feature
An advance in molecular moviemaking reveals the subtle, complex ways a simple molecule can shimmy and fly apart
Hitting molecules with two photons of light at once set off unexpected processes that were captured in detail with SLAC’s X-ray laser. Scientists say this new approach should work for bigger and more complicated molecules, too, allowing new insights into molecular behavior.
Closeup image of molecular movie frames
June 14, 2019
News Feature
A quick liquid flip helps explain how morphing materials store information
Experiments at SLAC’s X-ray laser reveal in atomic detail how two distinct liquid phases in these materials enable fast switching between glassy and crystalline states that represent 0s and 1s in memory devices.
Diagram of material switching between glassy and crystalline states
April 10, 2019
News Feature
10 ways SLAC’s X-ray laser has transformed science
In the decade since LCLS produced its first light, it has pushed boundaries in countless areas of discovery.
Undulator Hall
March 11, 2019
News Feature
A new way to watch atoms move in a single atomic sheet
X-ray laser snapshots give scientists a new tool for probing trillionths-of-a-second atomic motions in 2-D materials
Experimental station at SLAC's LCLS X-ray laser where the study was done
February 21, 2019
News Feature
Researchers watch molecules in a light-triggered catalyst ring ‘like an ensemble of bells’
A better understanding of these systems will aid in developing next-generation energy technologies.
synchronized molecules
January 14, 2019
News Feature
An effect that Einstein helped discover 100 years ago offers new insight into a puzzling magnetic phenomenon
Using an X-ray laser, researchers watched atoms rotate on the surface of a material that was demagnetized in millionths of a billionth of a second.
magnetism
November 1, 2018
News Feature
In materials hit with light, individual atoms and vibrations take disorderly paths
Revealed for the first time by a new X-ray laser technique, their surprisingly unruly response has profound implications for designing and controlling materials.
Illustration of laser light setting off vibrations in material

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