Scientific Highlights: Research Division "Photon Science"
New SwissFEL soft X-ray endstation welcomes first users
Maloja is go. First user experiments mark a double first, not only for the Maloja endstation but also for the second beamline of SwissFEL, Athos.
How to find anti-cancer agents
PSI researchers have developed a new substance that disables a vital protein in the cell skeleton.
Into the fourth dimension: time-resolved soft X-ray laminography
Combining time-resolved soft X-ray STXM imaging with magnetic laminography, researchers were able to investigate magnetization dynamics in a ferromagnetic microstructure resolved in all three spatial dimensions and in time. Thanks to the possibility of freely selecting the frequency of the excitation applied to the magnetic element, this technique opens the possibility to investigate resonant magneto-dynamical processes, such as e.g. magnetic vortex core gyration and switching, and spinwave emission.
A look into the magnetic future
PSI researchers are the first to observe a specific behaviour of magnetic ice.
Hercules School 2022
PSI hosted again the Hercules School in March 2022. We had the pleasure to welcome 20 international PhD students, PostDocs and scientists to demonstrate our state-of-the-art techniques and methodologies at our large scale facilities, the Swiss Light Source (SLS), the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source (SINQ) and our free electron laser SwissFEL.
Novel X-ray lens facilitates glimpse into the nanoworld
PSI develops a revolutionary achromatic lens for X-rays.
Light springs and magnetic vortices: a new kind of dichroism
In contrast to circular dichroism that is dependent on the polarization, helicoidal dichroism induced by a twisted wave front profile is scarcely known. The first evidence of magnetic helicoidal dichroism has now been observed in an experiment using Spiral Fresnel Zone Plates developed at the Paul Scherrer Institut.
The wondrous world of light antennas
How light receptors can be used to specifically switch processes in cells on and off.
Mobile excitons as neutral information carriers
These quasiparticles have the potential to revolutionise electronics - if they can move. Mobile excitons have now been observed for the first time in a metal.