Paul Scherrer Institut

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Giacomo Sala is an experimental physicist in the PSI Center for Neutron and Muon Science. For his project Q-GEOMSPIN, he has been awarded funding from the EU: a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Markus Fischer

14.09.2026
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Science

Giacomo Sala is combining two previously separate disciplines of physics: the established field of spintronics and the emerging field of quantum geometry. His Q-GEOMSPIN project at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI could pave the way for more efficient data storage – and is now being funded with approximately CHF 2.2 million by the European Research Council (ERC).

Spintronics plus quantum: PSI researcher receives major grant

– PSI physicist Giacomo Sala receives approximately CHF 2.2 million from the European Research Council (ERC).
– In the Q-GEOMSPIN project, he is bringing together two research areas that up to now have largely been studied separately.
– This fundamental research could lead to more energy-efficient dat…

With an innovative manufacturing process for the battery of the future: PSI researchers demonstrate in a recent study how solid-state batteries can be produced inexpensively, efficiently, and with a long lifespan. The image shows a test cell in which the all-solid-state battery developed at PSI is manufactured and tested. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Mahir Dzambegovic / An innovative manufacturing process paves the way for the battery of the future: In their latest study PSI researchers demonstrate a cost-effective and efficient way to produce all-solid-state batteries with a long lifespan. The image shows a test cell used to fabricate and test the all-solid-state battery developed at PSI. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Mahir Dzambegovic

Links: Porous solid electrolyte through which lithium dendrites (gray) can penetrate to the lithium surface (silver); the interface is protected only by a natural boundary layer (pink). Right: Densely sintered solid electrolyte produced at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI with a stabilizing lithium fluoride coating (blue) that prevents dendrite penetration and protects the lithium surface. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Jinsong Zhang

Jinsong Zhang and Mario El Kazzi (from left to right) with a test cell of the all-solid-state battery developed at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI. The two researchers have developed a process that combines mild sintering with an ultrathin lithium fluoride coating, thus enabling the production of particularly stable solid-state electrolytes. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Mahir Dzambegovic

20.01.2026
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Battery

New process for stable, long-lasting all-solid-state batteries

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have achieved a breakthrough on the path to practical application of lithium metal all-solid-state batteries – the next generation of batteries that can store more energy, are safer to operate, and charge faster than conventional lithium-ion batteries.

A…

Lauren Riddiford, Aleš Hrabec, and Jeffrey Brock (from left to right) in the cleanroom at Park Innovaare – located right next to PSI. This is where the innovative magnetic structures are created and precisely altered using laser technology. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI / Mahir Dzambegovic

From laser light to snowflake: This magnetic structure was created at PSI using an industrial laser – not for decoration, but as a demonstration of precise material modification with potential for data storage, AI, and photonics. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI / Aleš Hrabec, Lauren Riddiford, Jeffrey Brock

12.12.2025
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Science

Laser draws made-to-order magnetic landscapes

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado, have for the first time succeeded in using existing laser technology to continuously vary the magnetic properties of two-dimensional materials. This s…

Volodymyr Korkhov (links) and Richard Kammerer of the Center for Life Sciences at PSI have made an important step forward in understanding how botulinum neurotoxin, commonly known as Botox, penetrates our nerve cells. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Mahir Dzambegovic / Volodymyr M. Korkhov (left) and Richard Kammerer of the Center for Life Sciences at PSI have made significant progress in understanding how botulinum neurotoxin, short for Botox, enters our nerve cells. © Paul Scherrer Institute PSI/Mahir Dzambegovic

15.02.2025
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Science

How botox enters our cells

Researchers at the Center for Life Sciences at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have for the first time identified structural changes in the botulinum neurotoxin, botox for short, that are believed to be crucial for its uptake into nerve cells. This could mean that the paralysing effect of this poten…

Milan Radovic is a research associate at the SIS Beamline (Spectroscopy of Interfaces and Surfaces) at the Swiss Light Source SLS. He studied at the University of Belgrade in Serbia, where he also began his research career in the Department of Atomic Physics. He earned his doctorate at the University of Naples. In 2009, Radovic was invited to take up a joint position at EPFL Lausanne and PSI. Since 2013, he has been a research associate at PSI. (Photo: Paul Scherrer Institute/Mahir Dzambegovic)

Milan Radovic and Eduardo Bonini Guedes (right) from the Spectroscopy of Quantum Materials Group at the SIS beamline of the Swiss Light Source SLS. (Photo: Paul Scherrer Institute/Mahir Dzambegovic) / Milan Radovic and Eduardo Bonini Guedes from the Spectroscopy of Quantum Materials Group at the SIS beamline of the Swiss Light Source. (Photo: Paul Scherrer Institute/Mahir Dzambegovic)

11.02.2023
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Science

New materials for the computer of the future

Novel materials could revolutionise computer technology. Research conducted by scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI using the Swiss Light Source SLS has reached an important milestone along this path.

Microchips are made from silicon and work on the physical principle of a semiconductor. Not…

Susanne Geistlich, Head of the Clinical Drug Supply at PSI, working at one of the filling systems in the new pharmaceutical laboratory. In such cells, the radiopharmaceuticals are filled into injection vials. The aseptic environment and a special filter system ensure a sterile product. (Photo: Paul Scherrer Institute/Mahir Dzambegovic)

Susanne Geistlich checks a hygiene-monitoring sample for sterility. The aseptic production of sterile medicines demands effective hygienic measures in the rooms and among the staff. (Photo: Paul Scherrer Institute/Mahir Dzambegovic)

03.08.2022
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New building

The new pharmaceutical laboratory for the manufacture of radiopharmaceuticals at PSI is ready for production. With its three state-of-the-art production units, novel and innovative drugs can be brought rapidly into clinical use.

Swissmedic grants operating licence for new radiopharmaceutical production facility

At PSI, with the help of a new facility, small batches of highly specific drugs will be produced in future. These will be delivered directly to hospitals for use in treating tumour patients.

For more than 20 years, in collaboration with ETH Zurich, PSI researchers have been developing new drugs for t…

Tianlun Yu (links) and Vladimir Strocov at the ADRESS beamline of the Swiss Light Source SLS, where they measured the layered structure of the semiconductor gallium nitride and the superconductor niobium nitride. (Photo: Paul Scherrer Institute/Mahir Dzambegovic) / Tianlun Yu (left) and Vladimir Strocov at the ADRESS beamline of the Synchrotron Light Source, where they measured the layered structure made of the semiconductor gallium nitride and the superconductor niobium nitride. (Photo: Paul Scherrer Institute/Mahir Dzambegovic)

30.01.2022
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Industry 4.0

Semiconductors reach the quantum world

Quantum effects in superconductors could give semiconductor technology a new twist. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and Cornell University in New York State have identified a composite material that could integrate quantum devices into semiconductor technology, making electronic compo…

Konrad Vogelsang removes a silicon wafer with imprinted nanostructures from the thermal imprint machine. Because the process is highly susceptible to dirt particles, the technician wears a protective suit and gloves while working in the cleanroom. (Photo: Paul Scherrer Institute/Markus Fischer)

On the light microscope, Helmut Schift checks whether the stamp structures have been molded evenly during the hot embossing and whether process changes are necessary. (Photo: Paul Scherrer Institute/Markus Fischer)

11.10.2013

The PSI cleanrooms boast an almost particle-free environment

The cleanest place at the Paul Scherrer Institute

Highly sensitive processes take place in the cleanrooms of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) as a single dust particle in the wrong place could have disastrous consequences. Here is a glimpse behind the scenes in rooms that are so clean even pencils are prohibited.

Anyone who attends the cleanroom co…

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