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SLAC builds and uses various kinds of lasers to do scientific research. 

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PULSE graduate student Jian Chen in a laser lab at SLAC.

Press Release

Studying a material that even more closely resembles the composition of ice giants, researchers found that oxygen boosts the formation of diamond rain.

Diamond rain formation
News Feature

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...

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.
News Feature

Scientists discover that triggering superconductivity with a flash of light involves the same fundamental physics that are at work in the more stable states...

Exposing the material to a magnetic field
News Feature

Through her work with this nationwide program, Curry plans to make high-power laser facilities more accessible to researchers.

Chandra Breanne Curry
News Feature

A better understanding of this process could inform the next generation of artificial photosynthetic systems that produce clean and renewable energy.

water droplets on plant
News Feature

Topological insulators conduct electricity on their surfaces but not through their interiors. SLAC scientists discovered that high harmonic generation produces a unique signature from...

A counterclockwise pattern of swirling arrows This pattern of arrows representing the combined spin and momentum of electrons in the surface layer of a topological insulator
News Feature

High-power lasers will work in concert with the lab’s X-ray laser to dramatically improve our understanding of matter in extreme conditions.

diamond rain
News Feature

This is the first direct observation of a hydroxyl-hydronium complex – important for a wide range of chemical and biological processes from the tails...

ued ionized water
News Feature

The results have important implications for today’s TV and display screens and for future technologies where light takes the place of electrons and fluids.

Illustration of three quantum dot nanocrystals showing atomic-level changes when they are hit with laser light
News Feature

This new understanding could aid the development of more efficient clean energy sources.

electron transfer
News Feature

Scientists get dramatically better resolution at X-ray free-electron lasers with a new technique.

timingjitter
News Feature

Just as pressing a guitar string produces a higher pitch, sending laser light through a material can shift it to higher energies and higher...

High harmonic generation in a topological insulator.