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

The high-energy upgrade will keep the U.S. at the forefront of X-ray science and technology, allowing researchers to advance fields such as sustainability, human...

LCLS-II-HE
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.
Illustration
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
Animation
As this animation shows, polaronic distortions start very small and rapidly expand outward in all directions to a diameter of...
Animation of polaronic distortions expanding in an atomic lattice
Illustration

An illustration shows polarons – fleeting distortions in a material’s atomic lattice ––in a promising next-generation energy material, lead hybrid perovskite.

Polarons, bubbles of distortion in a perovskite lattice.
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