LCLSThe LCLS will be the world's first x-ray free electron laser when it becomes operational in 2009.
SSRLSSRL is a National User Facility which provides synchrotron radiation for research in chemistry, biology, physics
& materials science.
PULSEPULSE will focus on ultrafast structural and electronic dynamics in atomic physics, chemistry, biology, & physics.
LUSILUSI will build instrumentation for LCLS science thrust areas.
The Sub-Picosecond Pulse Source (SPPS) in the Final Focus Test Beam
(FFTB) at SLAC produced <100 femtosecond pulses of spontaneous x-ray radiation utilizing the electron beam from the SLAC linear accelerator and an undulator. The present injection-damping ring system used to inject into the PEP-II B-Factory was used for this purpose, without any modification to the linear accelerator except for a sequence of 4 bending magnets to compress the electron bunch.
The remarkable experiments conducted with SPPS concluded in March 2006 because the FFTB building is being dismantled to make way for construction of its successor, the Linac Coherent Light Source. By generating the world's shortest bunches of electrons and turning them into ultrafast pulses of x-ray light, SPPS observed a previously unseen world -- where atoms and materials move too quickly for synchrotron x-ray beams and are too small for ultrafast visible light lasers. The SPPS had a series of very successful runs during the past three years, specifically they have: measured the earliest atomic motions that occur when a solid melts; learned how to put data in order chronologically by successfully time-stamping the arrivals of the x-ray pulse and the laser pulse used to start chemical reactions; explored how to use light to control and shape the potential-energy surface that determines where atoms go and the forces they feel; and observed atoms vibrating on 100-femtosecond time scales. The highly productive collaboration included about 50 researchers from 10 institutions, a significant increase over traditional synchrotron x-ray collaborations. For more information on SPPS experiments see the publications list below.
