SLS
Faster, more precise, more reliable – the future of manufacturing
Advanced manufacturing means using state-of-the-art production methods. Researchers at PSI are helping to make techniques such as 3D printing more reliable and to advance the miniaturisation of high-performance chips.
From coral berries to new therapies: uncovering the molecular glue mechanism of natural compounds
Researchers at the Center for Life Sciences and the Center for Scientific Computing, Theory, and Data at the Paul Scherrer Institute have identified the mechanism by which certain natural compounds interfere with cellular signaling. These ‘molecular glues’ have a therapeutic potential for the treatment of specific cancer types. Their latest study on this topic has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
Aluminium made visible
PSI researchers have for the first time determined the exact position of the aluminium atoms in zeolites, which make these materials such good catalysts.
Antiferrodistortive and ferroeletric phase transitions in freestanding films of SrTiO3
Epitaxially grown thin films are commonly used to strain engineer electronic properties by the choice of a substrate, and therefore do not match bulk properties (leading to properties that deviate from the bulk material). Free standing ultrathin oxide films are expected to preserve the bulk-like properties due to the absence of substrate influence. However, we show that this expectation is not fulfilled with ultrathin free standing SrTiO3, as they get ferroelectric at 80K.
Water gets in shape for VUV absorption
Nanometre‑thin, free‑flowing liquid sheets now let Swiss Light Source users record pristine VUV absorption spectra of water, and soon any solvent.
Mapping crystallite orientation in bulk polycrystals
A new experimental technique allows the orientation distribution of small-grained polycrystal materials to me mapped in 3D.
A faster route to green hydrogen
The pH value determines how easily hydrogen can be produced from water when cobalt is used as a catalyst. PSI researchers have now found out why.
PILATUS4 detector arrives at PXIII
On April 4, 2025, a Dectris Pilatus4 2M detector was successfully installed at beamline PXIII. In the coming weeks, this new detector will be used to measure the first macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments using the SLS 2.0 machine.
SLS 2.0: How to start up a particle accelerator
The electrons are back: after its upgrade, the Swiss Light Source SLS is starting up again, step by step.
Prestigious funding for research at PSI
Concrete, chemical catalysis and the search for new physics – three PSI researchers have each received a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation for these areas of research.