Ultrafast science

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.

Ultrafast manipulation of material properties with light could stimulate the development of novel electronics, including quantum computers.

In a major step forward, SLAC’s X-ray laser captures all four stable states of the process that produces the oxygen we breathe, as well as fleeting steps in between. The work opens doors to understanding the past and creating a...

Revealed for the first time by a new X-ray laser technique, their surprisingly unruly response has profound implications for designing and controlling materials.

The initiative will give scientists more access to powerful lasers at universities and labs.

Switches like this one, discovered with SLAC’s ultrafast ‘electron camera’, could offer a new, simple path to storing data in next-generation devices.

In a first, researchers measure extremely small and fast changes that occur in plasma when it’s zapped with a laser. Their technique will have applications in astrophysics, medicine and fusion energy.

The annual conference for scientists who conduct research at SLAC’s light sources engaged about 470 researchers in talks, workshops and discussions.

The early-career award honors a promising leader in X-ray free-electron laser research.

A team of electrical designers develops specialized microchips for a broad range of scientific applications, including X-ray science and particle physics.

Tony Heinz and Z-X Shen will receive funding for research focused on catalysis and novel states of matter.

To break, or not to break: An unprecedented atomic movie captures the moment when molecules decide how to respond to light.