The Stanford Photonics Research Center

Ultrafast Laser Sources and Applications

The Ultrafast Laser Sources and Applications group at Stanford focuses on employing femtosecond laser sources to study atomic, molecular, solid-state, and biological systems.  
 
One of the principle unique resources at Stanford is the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC which is the world’s first hard x-ray free electron light source, supplying femtosecond pulses suitable for capturing the detailed motion of atoms in molecules.  The LCLS is a billion times bright than any X-ray source previously produced in the laboratory.  
 
The working group has also developed custom, miniature two photon microscopes using ultrafast lasers, which probe the structure and function of neuronal circuits in alert, behaving animals.  Other research focuses on electron-hole dynamics in semiconductors, coherent transient excitation in atoms and molecules, and nonlinear process in fibers and guided wave structures.