The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is a cutting-edge research facility located at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, California. It is the world’s first hard X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facility, operational since 2009. The LCLS generates ultra-fast, ultra-bright pulses of X-rays, each lasting just femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second). These X-ray pulses are used to capture images of atoms and molecules in motion, providing scientists with unprecedented views of the fundamental processes of chemistry, physics, and biology.
High-speed X-ray free-electron lasers have unlocked the crystal structures of small molecules relevant to chemistry and materials science, proving a new method that could advance…
Researchers discover that a spot of molecular glue and a timely twist help a bacterial enzyme convert carbon dioxide into carbon compounds 20 times faster…
Less than a millionth of a billionth of a second long, attosecond X-ray pulses allow researchers to peer deep inside molecules and follow electrons as…
A day in the life of two accelerator experts Kathleen Ratcliffe and Tien Fak Tan have cooperated over the last several years to help create…
Biochemical ‘action shots’ with SLAC’s X-ray laser could help scientists develop synthetic enzymes for medicine and answer fundamental questions about how enzymes change during chemical…
Researchers at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory used SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray Laser to measure atomic-scale details of how ring-shaped gas molecules break…
Researchers at SLAC used the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser to study the disintegration of buckyballs, carbon molecules shaped like soccer balls, when…
Scientists at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s Linac Coherent Light Source used carefully timed pairs of laser pulses to capture ultrafast snapshots of light-driven superconductivity. A…
Using a new method called Fourier Transform Inelastic X-ray Scattering, scientists are able to measure subtle atomic vibrations faster and more accurately. An international team…
Scientists from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have demonstrated a new X-ray technique, called stimulated X-ray Raman scattering, which tells scientists about the energy flow…
Using a technique called partial covariance mapping, scientists gain new insight into the dynamics of “hollow atom” formation. In a detailed study of how intense…
By using a beam of electrons, a team of accelerator physicists has found a new method to create coherent beams of twisted light. Scientists at…
In an effort to keep pace with the demand for faster computing devices, scientists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are exploring the use of…
In a newly published study, scientists from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory detail a new set of tools that better pinpoint the arrival time of…
Researchers have taken a step forward towards producing artificial photosynthesis systems that would provide clean, green and renewable energy. Using pulses of X-rays from SLAC’s…
An international team of scientists used X-rays from the Linac Coherent Light Source to study and dissected a process in multi-million-degree space plasmas that produces…
Scientists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory are using X-ray lasers to determine the structures of biological molecules that are important for human health, solving…
Results from a newly published study may help scientists deliberately induce the high levels of damage needed to study extreme states of matter. Researchers using…