Stanford PULSE Institute

SLAC-led Study Shows Potential for Efficiently Controlling 2-D Materials With Light

In experiments with the lab’s ultrafast "electron camera," laser light hitting a material is almost completely converted into nuclear vibrations, which are key to switching a material’s properties on and off for future electronics and other applications.

A Potential New and Easy Way to Make Attosecond Laser Pulses: Focus a Laser on Ordinary Glass

This novel method could shrink the equipment needed to make laser pulses billionths of a billionth of a second long for studying ultra-speedy electron movements in solids, chemical reactions and future electronics.

Kasper Kjaer Wins First LCLS Young Investigator Award

The early career award from SLAC’s X-ray laser recognizes Kjaer’s work in ultrafast X-ray science.

Philip Bucksbaum Elected to American Physical Society Leadership Position

Following the 2017 American Physical Society (APS) general election, Philip Bucksbaum will be vice president of APS in 2018 – an election that places him in the presidential line. He will become president-elect in 2019 and president in 2020.

Atomic Movies May Help Explain Why Perovskite Solar Cells Are More Efficient

SLAC’s ultrafast “electron camera” reveals unusual atomic motions that could be crucial for the efficiency of next-generation perovskite solar cells.

Scientists See Molecules ‘Breathe’ in Remarkable Detail

The research team was able to watch energy from light flow through atomic ripples in a molecule. Such insights may provide new ways to develop a class of materials that improve efficiency and reduce the size of applications like solar cells and memory storage devices.

A Single Electron’s Tiny Leap Sets Off ‘Molecular Sunscreen’ Response

A new X-ray laser technique allows scientists to home in on these single-electron triggers to better understand organic molecules that respond to light, including receptors in your eyes, plastic products and DNA building blocks that need to protect themselves from cancer-causing mutations.