FLASH News Archive 2017

“X-ray streaking” allows ultrafast processes to be followed using a single pulse of light


An international team of scientists has developed a new experimental method at the FLASH X-ray laser which allows the sequence of events involved in a process to be observed using a single, ultrashort pulse of light from FLASH. Their method is called “X-ray streaking” and enables researchers to observe ultrafast processes continuously, instead of being confined to taking snapshots at discrete intervals using separate X-ray pulses. ...

Scientists demonstrate unparalleled phase control of free-electron laser pulses


Thanks to a smart mirror scientists can control the phase of X-rays from DESY's free-electron laser FLASH with attosecond precision. The feat enables new investigations of the interactions of light and matter, as the team headed by DESY scientist Tim Laarmann reports in the journal Nature Communications. An attosecond is a billionth of a billionth of a second. The phase indicates at which point in its rapid oscillation a light wave is at a ...