Breakthrough at the Fritz Haber Institute: First Operation of a Two-Color Mode in an Infrared Free-Electron Laser

New opportunities for experimental studies in diverse fields ranging from physical chemistry, materials science, catalysis research to biomolecular studies

23-Feb-2024 - A technological milestone has been achieved at the Fritz Haber Institute (FHI) of the Max Planck Society in Berlin. For the first time, an infrared Free-Electron Laser (FEL) has been operated in a two-color mode. This globally unique technology enables experiments with synchronized two-color ...

First-ever X-ray attosecond experiment on liquids provides new insights into water’s molecular properties

Theorists explain how X-ray measurement freezes hydrogen motion, with implications on other areas of chemistry

19-Feb-2024 - An international team has performed an attosecond-scale experiment at an X-ray free-electron laser on liquid water for the first time, and the results may change our interpretation of water’s behaviour. The experiment team, led by scientist Linda Young from Argonne National Laboratory in the US, ...

Intense lasers shine new light on the electron dynamics of liquids

A new spectroscopical tool to study liquids

02-Oct-2023 - The behavior of electrons in liquids determines a vast range of chemical processes and thus essential processes in organisms and the world as a whole. But electron movements are extremely hard to capture because they take place within attoseconds: the realm of quintillionths of a second. Since ...

Experiments reveal that water can “talk” to electrons in graphene

Results could lead to applications in water purification and desalination processes and maybe even to liquid-based computers

27-Jun-2023 - Water and carbon make a quantum couple: the flow of water on a carbon surface is governed by an unusual phenomenon dubbed quantum friction.A work published in ‘Nature Nanotechnology’ experimentally demonstrates this phenomenon – which was predicted in a previous theoretical study— at the ...

New technique paves way for imaging individual molecules

Pioneering experiment exploits quantum properties of X-ray light

04-May-2023 - An international research team has succeeded for the first time in using X-rays for an imaging technique that exploits a particular quantum property of light. As the researchers describe in their work just published in the journal Physical Review Letters, this technique could enable imaging of ...

Laser technology for energy-efficient production of battery cells coupled with improved performance

Save energy in production while also making it possible to create battery cells with higher power density and a longer service life

05-Apr-2023 - High-performance battery cells are a crucial prerequisite for electrifying the mobility sector. With this in mind, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen have developed innovative laser-based technologies for producing lithium-ion batteries — which, in ...

Surface imaging technique illuminates potential improvements in plastics production

DESY's free-electron laser FLASH shows chemical changes in surfaces

24-Aug-2022 - Consider the humble plastic food wrapper. It may seem like a simple clear film that wraps a loaf of bread or fruit gummies, but these films are less simply composed as it seems.Each individual layer must be chemically treated so that it adheres well to the next. In their efforts to adapt an ...

Molecule snapshot by explosion

Important step for filming chemical reactions

23-Feb-2022 - Exploding a photo subject in order to take its picture? An international research team at the world's largest X-ray laser, the European XFEL, used this “extreme” method to take pictures of complex molecules. With the ultra-bright X-ray flashes generated by the facility, the scientists were able ...

Ultra-thin crystals as light sources in lasers

Laser emission demonstrated at room temperature: semiconductors consisting of three atomic layers could form the basis for innovative lasers

10-Nov-2021 - In an article published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, an international team led by Oldenburg physicists Dr. Hangyon Shan, Prof. Dr Christian Schneider and Dr. Carlos Anton-Solanas reports that crystals consisting of just three atomic layers can emit laser-like light at room ...

Lighting it up: fast material manipulation through a laser

23-Apr-2021 - Researchers from the Physical Chemistry Department of the Fritz Haber Institute and the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg have found out that ultrafast switches in material properties can be prompted by laser pulses – and why. This knowledge may enable new ...