SLAC topics

LCLS X-ray Pump Probe (XPP) RSS feed

The X-ray pump-probe (XPP) instrument predominantly uses ultrashort optical laser pulses to generate transient states of matter which are subsequently probed by hard X-ray pulses from the LCLS. The X-ray pulses help to reveal structural dynamics initiated by the laser excitation at the timescale of atomic motions in solid, liquid and gaseous specimens.

LCLS XPP Hutch

Press Release

With up to a million X-ray flashes per second, 8,000 times more than its predecessor, it transforms the ability of scientists to explore atomic-scale...

LCLS-II first light
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

These fleeting disruptions, seen for the first time in lead hybrid perovskites, may help explain why these materials are exceptionally good at turning sunlight...

An illustration shows polarons as bubbles of distortion in a perovskite lattice
News Feature

The results, which show that ultrafast atomic motions are the first step in forming a magnetic state, could lead to faster and more efficient...

Charge transfer
News Feature

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...

Closeup image of molecular movie frames
News Feature

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...

Diagram of material switching between glassy and crystalline states
News Feature

In the decade since LCLS produced its first light, it has pushed boundaries in countless areas of discovery.

Undulator Hall
News Feature

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
News Feature

A better understanding of these systems will aid in developing next-generation energy technologies.

synchronized molecules
News Feature

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...

Iron sample blasted with laser pulses to demagnetize it, then X-rayed.
News Feature

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
News Feature

The DOE’s top official met with SLAC staff and toured the Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser, where a superconducting upgrade is underway.

Secretary of Energy Rick Perry at SLAC's LCLS undulator hall