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, ultrafast phenomena that are key to a broad range of applications, from quantum materials to clean...

X-ray laser studies help researchers identify early steps in the freezing process to better understand how clouds make ice and their effect on climate.

They used synthetic diamond crystals as mirrors to make X-ray pulses run laps inside a vacuum chamber, demonstrating a key process needed for future generations of performance-enhanced X-ray lasers.     

Bringing ultrafast physics to structural biology has revealed the coordinated dance of molecules in unprecedented clarity, which could aid in the design of new light-responsive materials.

An upgrade to SLAC’s renowned Linac Coherent Light Source will allow it to deliver X-ray laser beams that are 10,000 times brighter with pulses that arrive up to a million times per second.

The results should further our understanding of similar reactions with vital roles in chemistry, such as the production of vitamin D in our bodies.

Chemical reactions often involve intermediate steps that are too fast and complex for us to see  – even using our most advanced scientific instruments. Combining two X-ray spectroscopy techniques has now been shown to change that.

After decades of effort, scientists have finally seen the process by which nature creates the oxygen we breathe using SLAC’s X-ray laser.

The award celebrates Huang’s achievements studying atom-scale physics with fast X-ray pulses.