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X-ray free-electron lasers light up materials science

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) are revolutionizing our ability to measure and understand the behaviour of complex materials. A new generation of XFELs is imminent, offering new approaches to materials characterization.

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Fig. 1: XFEL brightness.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks the LCLS staff and user community, and in particular B. Schoenlein, who has led the exploration of scientific opportunities for LCLS-II and LCLS-II-HE. Use of the LCLS is supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515.

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Correspondence to Mike Dunne.

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RIXS instrument at LCLS-II: https://lcls.slac.stanford.edu/instruments/neh-2-2

hRIXS: https://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/forschung/oe/fg/mi-synchrotron-radiation/photons/science-collaborations/rixs_en.html

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Dunne, M. X-ray free-electron lasers light up materials science. Nat Rev Mater 3, 290–292 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-018-0048-1

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