CBST researchers participated in work using the FLASH ultrafast free-electron laser in Hamburg, Germany -- to make measurements with nanometer and femtosecond accuracy.

Demonstration of nanometer-resolution X-ray diffraction imaging of freely moving particles in a vacuum.
Bogan, Benner, Bogan, Boutet, Rohner, et al., Single particle X-ray diffractive imaging, Nano Letters 2008, 8 (1) 310

30 nm particles were injected (iv) into the beam line (i) of the FLASH free-electron x-ray laser where <30 fs x-ray pulses produced diffraction patterns from individual particles which were reflected by a multilayer x-ray mirror (vii) and recorded on a CCD camera (vii). Real images were recovered from the diffraction pattern using iterative techniques developed by a former CBST post doctoral researcher. See Marchesini, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 2007, 78 (4) 011301

Demonstration of femtosecond time-delay X-ray holography. Chapman, Hau-Riege, Bogan, Bajit, Barty, et al., Femtosecond time-delay X-ray holography, Nature 2007, 448 (9) 676

A single x-ray pulse (<30 fs) illuminated a single polystyrene bead mounted on a 20-nm thick silicon nitride membrane. Some of the x-rays are scattered from the bead and are reflected by a multilayer x-ray mirror back towards the bead where additional x-rays are scattered. X-rays scattered from the first pass interfere with x-rays from the second pass and are then reflected by the detector mirror to record the resultant x-ray hologram on a CCD camera. The time delay, which can be controlled to fs accuracy, is used to record the motion of the exploding bead.