Technical Report: The Fastest Relativistic Jets from Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei

This workshop was held to gather scientists interested in exploiting beamlines I06 and I10 of the Surface and Interfaces Village at Diamond Light Source from June 10–11, 2009. Sarnjeet Dhesi introduced the meeting with a short explanation of the village structure at Diamond. This village includes the Nanoscience beamline (I06), catering for soft X-rays for Photo-Emission Electron Microscopy (PEEM) and X-ray Magnetic Circular and Linear Dichroism (XMCD and XMLD), and the Beam Line for Advanced Dichroism Experiments (BLADE, beamline I10), which is a polarized soft X-ray beam for XMCD, XMLD, and soft X-ray diffraction. I06 has been operational for over two years, while I10 is scheduled to come on-line in late 2010. In addition, there are two surface science beamlines (I07 and I09) in the village dedicated to surface diffraction and X-ray standing waves.     

HAXPES beamline PES‐BL14 at the Indus‐2 synchrotron radiation source

The Hard X‐ray Photo‐Electron Spectroscopy (HAXPES) beamline (PES‐BL14), installed at the 1.5 T bending‐magnet port at the Indian synchrotron (Indus‐2), is now available to users. The beamline can be used for X‐ray photo‐emission electron spectroscopy measurements on solid samples. The PES beamline has an excitation energy range from 3 keV to 15 keV for increased bulk sensitivity. An in‐house‐developed double‐crystal monochromator [Si (111)] and a platinum‐coated X‐ray mirror are used for the beam monochromatization and manipulation, respectively. This beamline is equipped with a high‐energy (up to 15 keV) high‐resolution (meV) hemispherical analyzer with a microchannel plate and CCD detector system with SpecsLab Prodigy and CasaXPS software. Additional user facilities include a thin‐film laboratory for sample preparation and a workstation for on‐site data processing. In this article, the design details of the beamline, other facilities and some recent scientific results are described.     

The materials science X‐ray beamline BL8 at the DELTA storage ring

The hard X‐ray beamline BL8 at the superconducting asymmetric wiggler at the 1.5 GeV Dortmund Electron Accelerator DELTA is described. This beamline is dedicated to X‐ray studies in the spectral range from ～1 keV to ～25 keV photon energy. The monochromator as well as the other optical components of the beamline are optimized accordingly. The endstation comprises a six‐axis diffractometer that is capable of carrying heavy loads related to non‐ambient sample environments such as, for example, ultrahigh‐vacuum systems, high‐pressure cells or liquid‐helium cryostats. X‐ray absorption spectra from several reference compounds illustrate the performance. Besides transmission measurements, fluorescence detection for dilute sample systems as well as surface‐sensitive reflection‐mode experiments have been performed. The results show that high‐quality EXAFS data can be obtained in the quick‐scanning EXAFS mode within a few seconds of acquisition time, enabling time‐resolved in situ experiments using standard beamline equipment that is permanently available. The performance of the new beamline, especially in terms of the photon flux and energy resolution, is competitive with other insertion‐device beamlines worldwide, and several sophisticated experiments including surface‐sensitive EXAFS experiments are feasible.     

Recent advances in imaging of properties and growth of low dimensional structures for photonics and electronics by XPEEM

Spectroscopic Photoemission and Low Energy Electron Microscopy (SPELEEM) is a very powerful and diverse microscopy technique for the investigation of surfaces, interfaces, buried layers and nanoscale objects like nanoparticles and nanowires. The many significant results from photoemission Electron microscopy (PEEM) in recent years are linked with the exploitation of advanced light sources such as synchrotrons and new advanced laser systems. Combined also with low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) it allows a complementary chemical and structural analysis making LEEM/PEEM a versatile multitechnique instrument. To illustrate the extreme diversity, we give a summary of the recent studies with the SPELEEM installed at the soft X-ray beamline I311 at the MAXII synchrotron storage ring and a portable electrostatic PEEM used with ultra-fast XUV laser technology. The examples cover topics such as full-cone 3D band mapping by using the photoelectron diffraction mode of the microscope, growth mechanism and detailed doping profile of III–V nanowires, growth and intercalation of graphene on SiC substrates, droplet dynamics on GaP(1 1 1) surface, surface chemistry and control of nanostructure fabrication. Moreover, the first results of PEEM experiments using extreme ultraviolet attosecond pulse trains are discussed.     

The multi‐purpose hard X‐ray beamline BL10 at the DELTA storage ring

The layout and the characteristics of the hard X‐ray beamline BL10 at the superconducting asymmetric wiggler at the 1.5 GeV Dortmund Electron Accelerator DELTA are described. This beamline is equipped with a Si(111) channel‐cut monochromator and is dedicated to X‐ray studies in the spectral range from ～4 keV to ～16 keV photon energy. There are two different endstations available. While X‐ray absorption studies in different detection modes (transmission, fluorescence, reflectivity) can be performed on a designated table, a six‐axis kappa diffractometer is installed for X‐ray scattering and reflectivity experiments. Different detector set‐ups are integrated into the beamline control software, i.e. gas‐filled ionization chambers, different photodiodes, as well as a Pilatus 2D‐detector are permanently available. The performance of the beamline is illustrated by high‐quality X‐ray absorption spectra from several reference compounds. First applications include temperature‐dependent EXAFS experiments from liquid‐nitrogen temperature in a bath cryostat up to ～660 K by using a dedicated furnace. Besides transmission measurements, fluorescence detection for dilute sample systems as well as surface‐sensitive reflection‐mode experiments are presented.     

High‐performance X‐ray detectors for the new powder diffraction beamline I11 at Diamond

The design and performance characterization of a new light‐weight and compact X‐ray scintillation detector is presented. The detectors are intended for use on the new I11 powder diffraction beamline at the third‐generation Diamond synchrotron facility where X‐ray beams of high photon brightness are generated by insertion devices. The performance characteristics of these detection units were measured first using a radioactive source (efficiency of detection and background count rate) and then synchrotron X‐rays (peak stability, light yield linearity and response consistency). Here, the results obtained from these tests are reported, and the suitability of the design for the Diamond powder beamline is demonstrated by presenting diffraction data obtained from a silicon powder standard using a prototype multicrystal analyser stage.     

I19, the small‐molecule single‐crystal diffraction beamline at Diamond Light Source

The dedicated small‐molecule single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction beamline (I19) at Diamond Light Source has been operational and supporting users for over three years. I19 is a high‐flux tunable‐wavelength beamline and its key details are described in this article. Much of the work performed on the beamline involves structure determination from small and weakly diffracting crystals. Other experiments that have been supported to date include structural studies at high pressure, studies of metastable species, variable‐temperature crystallography, studies involving gas exchange in porous materials and structural characterizations that require analysis of the diffuse scattering between Bragg reflections. A range of sample environments to facilitate crystallographic studies under non‐ambient conditions are available as well as a number of options for automation. An indication of the scope of the science carried out on the beamline is provided by the range of highlights selected for this paper.     

Insertion Devices at the National Synchrotron Light Source-II

The NSLS-II storage ring completed commissioning in 2014 and all project-beamline IDs have also been commissioned. As of February 2015, six beamlines are about to finish commissioning. By the end of 2015, the ring is expected to store 300 mA with top-up injection capability and 500 mA with a second superconducting RF cavity installed in the following year. The design principle of the NSLS-II ring is to employ low-field BMs and simultaneously install high-field wigglers in non-dispersive straights to reduce the horizontal emittance. The more wigglers are installed, the smaller the horizontal electron beam emittance becomes. At this stage, six 3.4-m-long wigglers with 1.8 T effective field and 100 mm period length have been installed in three straight sections, which could reduce emittance in a bare lattice from 2.1 nm.rad to approximately 1.0 nm. rad. Two 2.0-m-long EPU49s are installed for the coherent soft X-ray (CSX) beamline in a short straight (SS) section also known as the low-β_x straight section. These are Apple-II-type devices with four movable arrays. Two 3.0-m-long IVU20s are installed in two SS's, one for the Hard X-ray Nano-Probe (HXN) beamline and the other for the Coherent Hard X-ray (CHX) beamline. One 1.5-m-long IVU21 is installed in a canted short straight section for the Sub-Micron Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy (SRX) beamline. Its canting angle is 2 mrad outboard in the center of the straight section. The first ID for this beamline is installed in the downstream portion of the straight section. Another 3.0-m-long IVU22 is installed in a long straight section (LS: high-β_x) where a second device is planned to be added in the future. Three 2.8-m-long IVU23s are planned to be installed in long straight sections, either in an asymmetric canted configuration or in a straight configuration. One 1.4 m EPU57 and one 2.8 m EPU105 are planned for the Electron Spectro-Microscopy (ESM) beamline in a SS, while one 3.5m EPU57 in a LS is planned for the Soft Inelastic X-ray Scattering (SIX) beamline. Table 1 shows the specifications of all the IDs funded so far.     

The small‐angle and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering set‐up at beamline BL9 of DELTA

The multi‐purpose experimental endstation of beamline BL9 at the Dortmund Electron Accelerator (DELTA) is dedicated to diffraction experiments in grazing‐incidence geometry, reflectivity and powder diffraction measurements. Moreover, fluorescence analysis and inelastic X‐ray scattering experiments can be performed. Recently, a new set‐up for small‐angle and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering utilizing detection by means of an image‐plate scanner was installed and is described in detail here. First small‐angle X‐ray scattering experiments on aqueous solutions of lysozyme with different cosolvents and of staphylococcal nuclease are discussed. The application of the set‐up for texture analysis is emphasized and a study of the crystallographic texture of natural bio‐nanocomposites, using lobster and crab cuticles as model materials, is presented.     

WIFIP: a web‐based user interface for automated synchrotron beamlines

The beamline control software, through the associated graphical user interface (GUI), is the user access point to the experiment, interacting with synchrotron beamline components and providing automated routines. FIP, the French beamline for the Investigation of Proteins, is a highly automatized macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. On such a beamline, a significant number of users choose to control their experiment remotely. This is often performed with a limited bandwidth and from a large choice of computers and operating systems. Furthermore, this has to be possible in a rapidly evolving experimental environment, where new developments have to be easily integrated. To face these challenges, a light, platform‐independent, control software and associated GUI are required. Here, WIFIP, a web‐based user interface developed at FIP, is described. Further than being the present FIP control interface, WIFIP is also a proof of concept for future MX control software.     

Hard X-ray high kinetic energy photoelectron spectroscopy at the KMC-1 beamline at BESSY

Photoelectron spectroscopy at high kinetic energy is a research field that receives an increasing interest due to the possibility of studying bulk properties of materials and deeply buried interfaces. Recently, the hard x-ray high kinetic energy electron spectroscopy facility (HIKE) at BESSY in Berlin has become operative at the bending magnet beamline KMC-1. First results show excellent performance. Electron spectra have been recorded using x-ray energies continuously tunable between 2 keV and 12 keV. Using back-scattering conditions in the crystal monochromator very high resolution has been achieved for photon energies around 2 keV, 6 keV and 8 keV.     

4B9B束线低能分支的性能改进

分析了北京同步辐射实验室4B9B原束线低能分支的构造及弊病,在不影响束线高能分支性能及总体机械结构的基础上提出了改进方案.详细介绍了该设计方案和光束线调试工作及出光后束线的性能测试工作,该测试结果完全符合束线的设计.该束线在同步辐射专用光实验中充分发挥了改进后的优势,取得了令人满意的结果     

Fast X‐ray powder diffraction on I11 at Diamond

The commissioning and performance characterization of a position‐sensitive detector designed for fast X‐ray powder diffraction experiments on beamline I11 at Diamond Light Source are described. The detecting elements comprise 18 detector‐readout modules of MYTHEN‐II silicon strip technology tiled to provide 90° coverage in 2θ. The modules are located in a rigid housing custom designed at Diamond with control of the device fully integrated into the beamline data acquisition environment. The detector is mounted on the I11 three‐circle powder diffractometer to provide an intrinsic resolution of Δ2θ? 0.004°. The results of commissioning and performance measurements using reference samples (Si and AgI) are presented, along with new results from scientific experiments selected to demonstrate the suitability of this facility for powder diffraction experiments where conventional angle scanning is too slow to capture rapid structural changes. The real‐time dehydrogenation of MgH₂, a potential hydrogen storage compound, is investigated along with ultrafast high‐throughput measurements to determine the crystallite quality of different samples of the metastable carbonate phase vaterite (CaCO₃) precipitated and stabilized in the presence of amino acid molecules in a biomimetic synthesis process.     

高能电子照相成像模糊模拟研究

高能电子照相是一种新兴的无损探测技术,可以在不拆解客体的情况下对客体材料及其内部结构进行定量测量。与高能质子照相相比,其分辨能力更高,可达到亚m量级,有望成为介观现象诊断的有力工具。为研究相互作用和成像束线对成像模糊度的影响,采用Geant4模拟软件,建立12 GeV电子束从客体到像平面全过程照相模型,主要分析了成像束线引起的色差模糊、客体纵向长度引起的模糊以及次级粒子造成的模糊。研究结果表明,高能电子照相成像模糊为亚m量级,其中成像束线引起的色差模糊为主要贡献项,次级粒子和客体纵向长度引起的模糊可以忽略。     

高能电子照相成像模糊模拟研究

高能电子照相是一种新兴的无损探测技术,可以在不拆解客体的情况下对客体材料及其内部结构进行定量测量。与高能质子照相相比,其分辨能力更高,可达到亚m量级,有望成为介观现象诊断的有力工具。为研究相互作用和成像束线对成像模糊度的影响,采用Geant4模拟软件,建立12 GeV电子束从客体到像平面全过程照相模型,主要分析了成像束线引起的色差模糊、客体纵向长度引起的模糊以及次级粒子造成的模糊。研究结果表明,高能电子照相成像模糊为亚m量级,其中成像束线引起的色差模糊为主要贡献项,次级粒子和客体纵向长度引起的模糊可以忽略。     

XDS: a flexible beamline for X‐ray diffraction and spectroscopy at the Brazilian synchrotron

The majority of the beamlines at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Source Laboratory (LNLS) use radiation produced in the storage‐ring bending magnets and are therefore currently limited in the flux that can be used in the harder part of the X‐ray spectrum (above ～10 keV). A 4 T superconducting multipolar wiggler (SCW) was recently installed at LNLS in order to improve the photon flux above 10 keV and fulfill the demands set by the materials science community. A new multi‐purpose beamline was then installed at the LNLS using the SCW as a photon source. The XDS is a flexible beamline operating in the energy range between 5 and 30 keV, designed to perform experiments using absorption, diffraction and scattering techniques. Most of the work performed at the XDS beamline concentrates on X‐ray absorption spectroscopy at energies above 18 keV and high‐resolution diffraction experiments. More recently, new setups and photon‐hungry experiments such as total X‐ray scattering, X‐ray diffraction under high pressures, resonant X‐ray emission spectroscopy, among others, have started to become routine at XDS. Here, the XDS beamline characteristics, performance and a few new experimental possibilities are described.     

Installation of a combined Raman and AFM microscope as a sample environment for nuclear resonance scattering at P01, PETRA III

A combined Raman and atomic force microscope (AFM) has been installed at beamline P01, PETRA III, DESY in Hamburg and is now available for all users of this beamline. With this unique setup nuclear resonance scattering and simultaneously performed Raman or Atomic Force Microscopy experiments are possible. Here we report on technical details of this new sample environment and on first tests with respect to the study of microstructures of spin crossover materials using ⁵⁷Fe nuclear resonance scattering.     

A new beamline for infrared microscopy in the SR center of Ritsumeikan University

A new beamline for an infrared (IR) microspectroscopy is under construction in the SR center of Ritsumeikan University. We designed an optical system which collects synchrotron radiation (SR) photons by installing one toroidal mirror and two plane mirrors in the storage ring chamber. As a result, the acceptance angle can be widened up to 250 mrad in horizontal and 63 mrad in vertical. Our aim is to develop an IR microspectroscopy beamline with spatial resolution of the order of sub micron from mid-IR to far-IR. In this paper, we present a designed optical system of IR microspectroscopy and the results of ray-tracing.     

A novel monochromator for experiments with ultrashort X‐ray pulses

Aiming at advancing storage‐ring‐based ultrafast X‐ray science, over the past few years many upgrades have been undertaken to continue improving beamline performance and photon flux at the Femtoslicing facility at BESSY II. In this article the particular design upgrade of one of the key optical components, the zone‐plate monochromator (ZPM) beamline, is reported. The beamline is devoted to optical pump/soft X‐ray probe applications with 100 fs (FWHM) X‐ray pulses in the soft X‐ray range at variable polarization. A novel approach consisting of an array of nine off‐axis reflection zone plates is used for a gapless coverage of the spectral range between 410 and 1333 eV at a designed resolution of E/ΔE = 500 and a pulse elongation of only 30 fs. With the upgrade of the ZPM the following was achieved: a smaller focus, an improved spectral resolution and bandwidth as well as excellent long‐term stability. The beamline will enable a new class of ultrafast applications with variable optical excitation wavelength and variable polarization.