Successful real-time observation of atomic motion with sub-nanometer resolution

Researchers have succeeded in using the immensely powerful X-ray pulses from the free electron laser (XFEL) facility SACLA to investigate excited-state induced transient lattice dynamics on sub-picosecond time scales in phase-change materials via X-ray diffraction. Phase-change materials (PCM) are broadly used in the current generation of rewritable DVD media as well as serving as the basis for nonvolatile phase-change random access memory (PC-RAM) widely believed to the successor to FLASH memor