LCLS
Linac Coherent Light Source
LCLS News

by Cathy Knotts
An outline of scheduled activities for further LCLS commissioning and user-assisted commissioning experiments for ~May 4 through September 14, 2010 has been posted. more...
by Cathy Knotts
Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal in response to the third LCLS Call for Proposals which ended on November 4. We received 107 new proposals: 16 for AMO, 32 for SXR, and 59 for XPP. more...
by LCLS Announcement
We are currently limited to a spectral range down to 750 eV, but we are developing operations at lower energies, down to 510 eV, for the future. The minimum pulse duration in standard operation is ~ 70 femtoseconds FWHM. The minimum pulse duration in standard operation is ~ 70 femtoseconds FWHM. We have developed lower current operation which is now available for users. In this low current moded pulse lengths have been shown to be less than 20 femtoseconds. We believe the pulses are much shorter more...
Video by Calla Cofield and Brad Plummer.
by Brad Plummer
Instrument scientist Christoph Bostedt gives an inside view of operations at the Atomic, Molecular and Optical science instrument and first user science at the Linac Coherent Light Source in this SLAC video profile. more...
The letters
by Shawne Workman
While not the smallest lettering ever created, the tiny initials "LCLS" have been written with what may be the world's most potent pen. Etched into boron carbide, a super-hard substance used in accelerator shielding and body armor, the lettering has helped researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory explore the capabilities of the world's first hard X-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source. more...
Visiting scientists from The Ohio State University with LCLS colleagues. (Photo: Nicholas Bock.)
by Nicolas Bock
It's been a busy few weeks at the Linac Coherent Light Source. The Atomic, Molecular and Optical instrument's second user group, led by The Ohio State University physicist Louis DiMauro, wrapped up a five-day run early Tuesday morning, and the third group is set to start science today. more...
by Jo Stöhr
Last week, on October 1, SLAC Today reported the beginning of the first user run at the Linac Coherent Light Source, and on October 6, a sparkling cider toast on the roof of the Near Experimental Hall, initiated by happy users, commemorated its successful completion. more...
The main experimental chamber of the AMO instrument, the high-field physics end-station.
by LCLS Announcement
It takes a lot of energy to strip all ten electrons from an atom of neon. Doing it from the inside out, knocking away the most-closely-held, innermost electrons first, is an even rarer feat. But the brilliant X-ray pulses of the Linac Coherent Light Source have done just that, in the successful first test of the unprecedented X-ray laser with its first scientific instrument. The result demonstrates the machine's unique capabilities—with the world's brightest and shortest X-ray laser pulses—and m more...
by Kelen Tuttle
The LCLS AMO team first opened the beam shutter, letting in the beam and bathing the instrument in the world's brightest, shortest pulses of laser X-rays. The AMO team is now carefully aligning the instrument and will spend the next several weeks finalizing preparations for the first experiments, which will begin in early October. more...
by Nicolas Bock
The first science instrument for the Linac Coherent Light Source was moved into its experimental hutch yesterday, marking a major milestone in preparing the Linac Coherent Light Source for its first wave of users this September. A team of riggers and vacuum assembly staff moved the Atomic, Molecular and Optical instrument from the Mechanical Fabrication Department Vacuum Shop to the Near Experimental Hall, Hutch 1. more...
The LCLS beam
SLAC Press Release
The world's brightest X-ray source sprang to life last week at the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) offers researchers the first-ever glimpse of high-energy or “hard” X-ray laser light produced in a laboratory. more...
LCLS Users Tour the Facility
by Kelen Tuttle
Even though the Linac Coherent Light Source's Atomic, Molecular and Optical science instrument has yet to be assembled, the first AMO users were already on site last week for the First AMO Beamtime Preparation Meeting. more...
John Bozek stands near a poster showing the AMO instrument.
by Kelen Tuttle
When the Linac Coherent Light Source starts producing the world's first hard X-ray laser pulses later this year, they will all be headed to one place: the Atomic, Molecular and Optical science instrument. more...
AMO high field physics end station
by Brad Plummer
LCLS hereby invites the world’s research community to submit scientific proposals for experiments with soft X-rays at the AMO experimental station. Proposals for the first LCLS operation period (July-December 2009) must be submitted by September 1, 2008. more...
More than 50 prospective users attended the LCLS AMO Workshop at SLAC this week.
by Brad Plummer
This week, more than 50 prospective Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) users arrived at SLAC for a workshop focusing on the Atomic, Molecular and Optical (AMO) science instrument. more...
3D rendering of the AMO instrument
by Brad Plummer
In preparation for the upcoming call for proposals to use the LCLS for AMO experiments, a workshop will be held at SLAC June 2-3, 2008 to inform future AMO users of the status of the LCLS and assist them with preparing their proposals for beam time. more...
3D rendering of the AMO instrument
by Brad Plummer
The AMO end-station is in the final design process, with detailed drawings of the mechanical components being produced, commercial components specified and controls and data acquisition software being designed. This process is expected to last until the summer when a review of the design will be held and procurement of components begin. more...