Materials Science

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December 12, 2017
Press Release
Scientists Discover Path to Improving Game-Changing Battery Electrode
They created a comprehensive picture of how the same chemical processes that give these cathodes their high capacity are also linked to changes in atomic structure that sap performance.
Illustration of electrode structure for lithium ion battery
November 30, 2017
News Feature
Study Confirms that Cuprate Materials Have Fluctuating Stripes that May Be Linked to High-temperature Superconductivity
These stripes of electron spin and charge are exciting because of their possible link to a phenomenon that could transform society by making electrical transmission nearly 100 percent efficient.
Illustration of spin and charge stripes modeled by computer
November 27, 2017
News Feature
SLAC-led Study Shows Potential for Efficiently Controlling 2-D Materials With Light
In experiments with the lab’s ultrafast "electron camera," laser light hitting a material is almost completely converted into nuclear vibrations, which are key to switching a material’s properties on and off for future electronics and other applications.
UED Molybdenum Diselenide
November 14, 2017
News Feature
Double-Duty Textile Could Warm or Cool
Clothing made from a reversible fabric, developed in part by SIMES researchers, could warm or cool wearers and keep them comfortable, bringing down buildings’ energy costs.
November 9, 2017
News Feature
LIGO Mirror Coatings Get Upgrade with New National Collaboration
Effort to improve the next generation of gravitational wave detectors includes atomic studies of new and better coatings for LIGO’s mirrors at SSRL.
October 26, 2017
Press Release
Scientists Get First Close-ups of Finger-Like Growths that Trigger Battery Fires
Remarkable cryo-EM images that reveal details down to the individual atom will yield new insights into why high-energy batteries fail.
October 24, 2017
News Feature
SLAC Accelerator Physicist Alexander Chao Wins American Physical Society’s Wilson Prize
He is recognized for his numerous contributions to the advancement of accelerator physics, community service and education.
Alexander Chao
September 28, 2017
News Feature
A Potential New and Easy Way to Make Attosecond Laser Pulses: Focus a Laser on Ordinary Glass
This novel method could shrink the equipment needed to make laser pulses billionths of a billionth of a second long for studying ultra-speedy electron movements in solids, chemical reactions and future electronics.
September 26, 2017
News Feature
Kasper Kjaer Wins First LCLS Young Investigator Award
The early career award from SLAC’s X-ray laser recognizes Kjaer’s work in ultrafast X-ray science.
photo of Kasper Kjaer in Panofsky Auditorium
September 11, 2017
News Feature
Hewlett Packard’s Suhas Kumar Wins 2017 Klein Award
Kumar’s work, carried out in part at SSRL, explains how memristors work – a new class of electronic devices with applications in next-generation information storage and computing.
photo of Suhas Kumar at SSRL

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