2005 Superlaser FLASH

At the beginning of the 1990s, DESY developed a new technology: superconducting linear accelerators that could produce X-ray laser light. In February 2001, a test facility for this type of technology produced the first laser light in the ultraviolet spectrum.

In 2005, DESY's 260 metre long free-electron laser FLASH generated the world's first light flashes of this type in the soft X-ray spectrum.

A photo of a section of the FLASH linear accelerator. Photo: DESY

FLASH set impressive records: first, the machine managed a wavelength of 13 nanometres, later even achieving 6.5 nanometres. With the shorter wavelengths, scientists could probe very fine details of samples.

Every individual flash from FLASH contains up to five gigawatts of power – around a thousand times more as comparable lasers. The strong pulses make very fast measurements possible – an important prerequisite for investigating biological samples.

FLASH even made it into the Guinness Book of World Records: here, the world's fastest movie was recorded!