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Stanford Institute for Materials & Energy Sciences (SIMES) RSS feed

SIMES researchers study complex, novel materials that could transform the energy landscape by making computing much more efficient or transmitting power over long distances with no loss, for instance.

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Polarons, bubbles of distortion in a perovskite lattice.

News Feature

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...

Image - A laser-driven electric pulse excites a magnetic response in a multiferroic material that is measured by SLAC's X-ray laser pulse (blue).
Press Release

An electrode designed like a pomegranate – with silicon nanoparticles clustered like seeds in a tough carbon rind – overcomes several remaining obstacles to...

A fanciful illustration of pomegranate seeds inside a conventional battery
News Feature

Jolting complex materials with bursts of energy from rapid-fire lasers can help scientists learn why some of these materials exhibit useful properties such as...

Image - Pictured is the initial, equilibrium distribution of electron energy after an intense pulse of near-infrared light. (SIMES)
News Feature

While this particular material is very unstable, the research shows it may be possible to find a material with the properties graphene has to...

photo of zhongkai liu
News Feature

Crafted in a single atomic layer, it could be a natural fit for making thin, flexible light-based electronics, as well as futuristic 'spintronics' and...

This diagram shows a single layer of MoSe2 thin film (green and yellow balls) grown on a layer of graphene (black balls) that has formed on the surface of a silicon carbide substrate. (Yi Zhang, SIMES and ALS/Berkeley Lab)
News Feature

Teams from Stanford, SLAC and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln collaborate to make thin, transparent semiconductors that could become the foundation for cheap, high-performance displays.

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News Feature

An international team led by scientists from two SLAC/Stanford institutes has devised a much faster and more accurate way of measuring subtle atomic vibrations...

Image showing laser beam energizing atoms in crystal lattic
Press Release

A single layer of tin atoms could be the world’s first material to conduct electricity with 100 percent efficiency at the temperatures that computer...

Photo - tin can and piece of scrap tin sitting on a periodic table of elements with tin "Sn" highlighted
Press Release

Researchers have made the first battery electrode that heals itself, opening a new and potentially commercially viable path for making the next generation of...

photo - research with self-healing polymer
News Feature

Scientists working at SLAC, Stanford, Oxford, Berkeley Lab and in Tokyo have discovered a new type of quantum material whose lopsided behavior may lend...

Yulin Chen (Brad Plummer/SLAC)
Public Lecture Poster
Journey to the Center of the Earth
News Feature

When it comes to improving the performance of lithium-ion batteries, no part should be overlooked – not even the glue that binds materials together...

Image -  A new binder material forms a fine-grained (top) lithium sulfide/carbon composite cathode, compared with the large clumps (bottom) that form when another common binder is used.