Welcome to the Microspectroscopy Group

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The Microspectroscopy Group has a long experience in synchrotron based hyperspectral imaging for a wide variety of materials and involving many different scientific disciplines. In particular we study the nanostructures of novel organic materials and the magnetic properties of thin films and multilayers employing a combination of X-ray microscopy and spectroscopy. We operate two beamlines at the SLS, PolLux and ISS. At these beamlines we perform our research and provide support for external users.

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Preserving film sound in the cold at the British Film Institute: new evidence for archives

Can magnetic film sound be stored in the cold? A collaboration between the British Film Institute and PSI found no detectable damage in the studied samples and points to a broader future for archives, in which laboratory methods and synchrotron techniques at the Swiss Light Source SLS help guide the preservation of complex audiovisual media.

Top: Sketch of the operating principle of the MEMS device utilized to generate an in-situ strain to a freestanding film positioned between the two cantilevers of the device; (Bottom) XLD ptychography images of the spin cycloidal configuration of a (001) BiFeO3 freestanding film as a function of the tensile strain applied by the MEMS device

In-situ straining with a MEMS device

Researchers from an international collaboration between Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Taiwan have developed a device for the in situ straining of freestanding ferroic films alllowing for ptychographic imaging whilst applying a mechanical strain. The results have been published as Editors' Suggestion within Physical Review B.