Find out more about the research questions we are working on and the unique large-scale research facilities we are using to find answers.
Future technologies
New technologies are the driving force behind an innovative society. At PSI, researchers are laying the necessary foundations for this. They are looking for previously unknown ways of processing and storing data, making technologies more sustainable and efficient or developing new processes to delve ever deeper into the micro and nano worlds. Their findings form the basis for new applications - be it in medicine, information technology, energy generation and storage - or for new production processes in industry.
X-rays show how quasiparticles interact in solids
Thanks to a new experimental technique at SwissFEL, researchers uncover the interplay between electronic, magnetic, and lattice excitations in a solid.
Launch of the Max Planck-Korea-PSI Center for Quantum Emergent Spintronics
An international research partnership uniting leading institutions from Germany, Korea and Switzerland to advance the frontiers of quantum spintronics
Switching chiral phonons with electricity
Scientists at PSI show that an electric field can reverse the handedness of atomic vibrations known as chiral phonons.
Energy and Climate
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Switzerland aims to be climate-neutral by 2050 – in other words, not to emit more greenhouse gases than can be absorbed naturally or by technical means. This calls on us to rethink our energy production and use – away from fossil fuels and towards climate-neutral energy sources. How can Switzerland become fit for a climate-neutral energy future? Researchers at PSI are looking for answers.
Technologies for the energy transition
The future begins in the laboratory. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI are working on technologies that can accelerate the energy transition, with a view to reconciling climate protection with security of supply.
New method for inspecting fuel rods
PSI researchers have successfully used a new method to analyse the cladding tubes of spent fuel rods from nuclear reactors at very high resolution for the first time. They found that the cladding tubes remained leak-tight.
Demonstration plant for sustainable aviation fuel inaugurated
On August 20, the inauguration ceremony for a new plant on the PSI campus took place. Here the production of sustainable aviation fuel is being tested: synthetic kerosene produced in an exceptionally efficient way.
Health Innovation
New methods for diagnosis and therapy are at the centre of medical research and development at PSI. In cancer diagnosis, the focus is on early detection. Basic research using the latest methods leads to the development of innovative therapies. PSI works very closely with universities, clinics and the pharmaceutical industry.
Nobel Prize meets PSI research
This year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine honours optogenetics: this method uses light to selectively control processes in cells. Researchers at PSI are advancing the field further.
Combating cancer growth
Researchers at PSI and the University of Zurich have determined the mechanism behind an important signalling protein that spins out of control in certain types of cancer. This paves the way for new approaches to cancer treatment.
Nano-insights into bone stability
PSI researchers have used a new imaging technique to more precisely assess the nanostructure of bone in the neck of the femur. This could help understand why they fracture relatively often.
Fundamentals of Nature
At PSI, researchers investigate the basic structures of matter and the fundamental principles of nature. They examine the smallest building blocks of matter or investigate the structure of biological molecules and how they perform their tasks. The knowledge gathered in this way opens up new approaches to finding solutions in science, medicine and technology.
Novel Particle Beam Could Challenge Einstein’s Theory of Gravity
An intense, cold beam of muonium will allow researchers to test the universality of free fall.
How the “unicorn of the seas” got its helix
Synchrotron light reveals for the first time how the spiral form of the narwhal tusk is created by the arrangement of nanometre-sized building blocks.
What a dry meteorite tells us about water on Mars
Neutron and X-ray tomography show where water is bound inside a Martian meteorite – offering new insights into the early history of Mars.
Our large research facilities
PSI develops, builds and operates complex large research facilities. PSI has the world's most powerful muon source, a unique proton and neutron source, an synchrotron of international importance and one of only five X-ray free-electron lasers with hard X-rays in the world. Scientists from all over the world use PSI's large research facilities for their scientific investigations. They are also available to Swiss research and industry for their experiments.
Quality over energy in X-ray production
High-quality electron beams pave the way for more compact and affordable X-ray free-electron lasers.
First positrons for the Future Circular Collider
At Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, positrons have been successfully produced at a test source for CERN’s proposed next-generation particle collider.
A window on a cold quantum world
At SwissFEL, scientists get a rare glimpse into the quantum states that emerge at extremely low temperatures.