Science Features - June 2025
Steering magnetic textures with electric fields
Researchers at the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source SINQ at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI demonstrated an innovative method to control magnetism in materials using an energy-efficient electric field. The discovery focuses on materials known as magnetoelectrics, which offer promise for next-generation energy technologies, data storage, energy conversion, and medical devices. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.
Stabilising fleeting quantum states with light
Quantum materials exhibit remarkable emergent properties when they are excited by external sources. However, these excited states decay rapidly once the excitation is removed, limiting their practical applications. A team of researchers from Harvard University and the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI demonstrated an approach to stabilise these fleeting states and probe their quantum behaviour using the X-ray free electron laser SwissFEL at PSI. The findings are published in the journal Nature Materials.
Correcting quantum errors with neutral-atom architectures
Wenchao Xu’s team is developing a new hybrid architecture for quantum computers based on neutral atoms. The goal is to build large-scale arrays with thousands of data qubits using two different types of atom arrays, each optimized for different functions: an approach that has the potential to improve the correction of quantum errors, an essential element on the road to universal quantum computers. In an interview, Wenchao Xu - who leads the Quantum Engineering research group at Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and is a tenure-track assistant professor at ETH Zurich - tells us the details about their experimental setup at PSI, its potential applications, and the challenges they face.
Using terbium against lymphoma
Radionuclide therapy with the radioactive element terbium could effectively combat lymphoma. This is demonstrated by promising results from experiments carried out at PSI in collaboration with Inselspital – Bern University Hospital. The findings are published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
News from the PSI Facilities
First light at ADDAMS, PolLux, SuperXAS and S-TOMCAT
After the ‘dark time’ of the SLS 2.0 upgrade, the light is coming back! Following Debye and PXIII, recently ADDAMS, PolLux, SuperXAS and S-TOMCAT welcomed their first X-ray beam.
Next proposal submission deadlines
SLS (Debye, ADDAMS, PolLux, SuperXAS, PXIII) 20 August 2025 (tbc)
SINQ 15 November 2025
SµS December 2025
SwissFEL 15 September 2025
CHRISP 16 January 2026
An overview of all proposal submission deadlines of the PSI facilities can be found here.
Users Facility Newsletter
📩 PSI users: our quarterly Facility Newsletter is out! Get important information, an overview of the latest scientific highlights, upcoming calls for proposals and news from the PSI facilities: SLS, SINQ, SμS, CHRISP and SwissFEL.
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PSI is home to five large-scale research facilities: SLS, SμS, SINQ, SwissFEL, and CHRISP, offering unique opportunities for interdisciplinary science. Can you guess where David is in this #WhereAmI video? Check out our Instagram channel for the answer and don’t forget to follow us for more behind-the-scenes from #ResearchAtPSI!