Following the NIF ignition demonstrations, the prospect of developing a fusion energy source using lasers looks brighter than ever. 

Teams at SLAC installed new experimental hutches with cutting-edge instruments that will harness the upgraded facility’s new capabilities and expand the breadth of research done at the facility.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm delivered this speech on the successful completion of the world’s most powerful X-ray laser at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory on Oct. 26, 2023.

The Secretary celebrated LCLS-II first light with 600 SLAC staff and collaborators Oct. 26.

The award recognizes Driver’s contribution toward attosecond X-ray capabilities.

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...

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.     

The facility is now one step away from releasing an unprecedented stream of ultra-bright X-rays.

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.