Engineering Science at the I12 Beamline at Diamond Light Source

Synchrotron-based engineering science covers a large field of applications. However, they are all connected in two ways. First, the very synchrotron techniques employed to study the various applications all work in the same way in that they determine structural parameters on the atomic and microscopic scale. Secondly, the portfolio of applications discussed here describes the complete life cycle of an engineering material, starting with processing of the base material—often from the melt—then the characterization of material properties, followed by the forming and joining into components, then component characterization during service, material aging, damage and failure and, finally, recycling or decommissioning. The structural problems which occur during the different stages in the life cycle of a material are complex, due to the advanced material technology of today's devices. We have created alloys for special applications, compound materials with novel properties, sophisticated bulk and surface treatments, and new forming and joining techniques. We are also concerned with the effect of the material on the environment after it has ended its service.     

Beamline 12.2.2: An Extreme Conditions Beamline at the Advanced Light Source

The Advanced Light Source (ALS) is a 1.9-GeV, third-generation synchrotron optimized for the production of VUV and soft X-rays from undulators. There is also a hard X-ray program at the ALS, which is based around three 6-T superconducting bending magnets [1 Robin, D. Proceedings of the 2002 European Particle Accelerator Conference. Paris, France. pp.215Geneva: EPAC..  [Google Scholar]] that shift the critical energy from 3 keV to 12 keV. The extreme conditions beamline at the ALS is situated on Beamline 12.2.2, which benefits from radiation produced by one of these superbend sources. The beamline is designed for X-ray diffraction, X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray imaging of samples held in diamond-anvil high-pressure cells (DACs). In a DAC, samples are on the order of 10 to 50 μm in diameter and 10 to 30 μm thick and are contained in a metal gasket of typical inner diameters of 100 to 150 μm. For high-quality diffraction patterns with little or no contamination from diffraction from the gasket, the X-ray beam size needs to be on the order of 10 μm × 10 μm.     

Circular dichroism beamline B23 at the Diamond Light Source

Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) is a well established technique in structural biology. The first UV‐VIS beamline, dedicated to circular dichroism, at Diamond Light Source Ltd, a third‐generation synchrotron facility in south Oxfordshire, UK, has recently become operational and it is now available for the user community. Herein the main characteristics of the B23 SRCD beamline, the ancillary facilities available for users, and some of the recent advances achieved are summarized.     

Infrared Microspectroscopy at SISSI,the ELETTRA Synchrotron Trieste Infrared Beamline

Infrared spectroscopy and spectromicroscopy have rapidly flourished using the advantages of InfraRed Synchrotron Radiation (IRSR), namely high brightness, broadband emission, linear and circular polarization and pulsed structure. InfraRed (IR) beamlines constructed at all synchrotron facilities provide a unique opportunity for a new class of experiments with significant multidisciplinary impact inaccessible to experimental equipment employing black body (globar) sources.     

Development of Hard X-ray Focusing Optics at Diamond Light Source

The short wavelength of X-rays makes them an excellent choice for probing materials on the nanometer scale and for crystallography of sub-micrometer crystallites. The objective of nanofocusing optics is to produce a small, focused beam size in order to obtain the highest X-ray flux on a small sample or as a fine spatial probe. Achieving nanometer-scale focused X-ray beam sizes puts great demands on the optical elements in an X-ray beamline—the optics must balance the requirements to de-magnify the electron beam X-ray source, to reduce the diffraction-limited focus size, and to minimize the contribution to the focus of aberrations in the optics while collecting the maximum X-ray flux into the focused beam. These requirements dictate that an extreme demagnifying geometry should be employed and that high-specification optical elements must be used. Nanofocusing optics has often been added as an upgrade to existing beamlines at Diamond, extending the range of science that can be carried out. Extreme nanofocusing also forms the basis of new beamlines at Diamond, such as the nanoprobe beamline (I14), which aims to provide sub-30-nm-dimension focused X-ray beams for mapping samples at high spatial resolution. The demand for nanometer-scale diffraction-limited X-ray beams is expected to grow at Diamond and requires corresponding advances in X-ray optics to exploit the present source and future lower emittance storage ring sources; for example, the proposed Diamond II upgrade, projected to give a factor 20 emittance reduction.     

Characterization of germanium linear kinoform lenses at Diamond Light Source

The unprecedented brilliance achieved by third‐generation synchrotron sources and the availability of improved optics have opened up new opportunities for the study of materials at the micrometre and nanometre scale. Focusing the synchrotron radiation to smaller and smaller beams is having a huge impact on a wide research area at synchrotrons. The key to the exploitation of the improved sources is the development of novel optics that deliver narrow beams without loss of brilliance and coherence. Several types of synchrotron focusing optics are successfully fabricated using advanced miniaturization techniques. Kinoform refractive lenses are being developed for hard X‐ray beamlines, and the first test results at Diamond are discussed in this paper.     

Diamond anvil cell radial x-ray diffraction program at the National Synchrotron Light Source

During the past decade, the radial x-ray diffraction method using a diamond anvil cell (DAC) has been developed at the X17C beamline of the National Synchrotron Light Source. The detailed experimental procedure used with energy dispersive x-ray diffraction is described. The advantages and limitations of using the energy dispersive method for DAC radial diffraction studies are also discussed. The results for FeO at 135?GPa and other radial diffraction experiments performed at X17C are discussed in this report.     

I18 – the microfocus spectroscopy beamline at the Diamond Light Source

The design and performance of the microfocus spectroscopy beamline at the Diamond Light Source are described. The beamline is based on a 27 mm‐period undulator to give an operable energy range between 2 and 20.7 keV, enabling it to cover the K‐edges of the elements from P to Mo and the L₃‐edges from Sr to Pu. Micro‐X‐ray fluorescence, micro‐EXAFS and micro‐X‐ray diffraction have all been achieved on the beamline with a spot size of ～3 µm. The principal optical elements of the beamline consist of a toroid mirror, a liquid‐nitrogen‐cooled double‐crystal monochromator and a pair of bimorph Kirkpatrick–Baez mirrors. The performance of the optics is compared with theoretical values and a few of the early experimental results are summarized.     

Technical Reports: Pulsed Laser Deposition and in situ Surface X-ray Diffraction at the Materials Science Beamline at the Swiss Light Source

One of the primary challenges of condensed matter physicists and materials scientists is the discovery and/or design of novel materials and their detailed characterization [1]. One can argue that this scientific odyssey began with the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic cuprates in 1984 [2], and more recently, colossal magnetoresistance in the manganates [3]. One of the consequences of this has been a concerted effort to produce high-quality thin films of systems such as YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO), La1-xSrxMnO3 (LSMO), the ruthenates, vanadates, and other complex metal oxides, driven both by technological applications, and a desire to better understand the underlying physics of these fascinating systems.     

含油岩心显微红外光谱成像方法的研究

虽然用红外光谱显微探针方法研究岩心中碳质物已有很多工作,但是通常对诸如岩心等样品物性的光谱学微探针实验研究多是局限于对经过复杂处理分离出的微小样品或样品中个别位点所得的结果,缺乏对复杂样品各组分(或基团)的空间分布及其相互关系的研究。近年来新发展起来的光谱成像分析系统将光谱技术与成像技术有机地结合起来融为一体,可在光谱和空间两个方面对目标样品进行分析和识别并已得到广泛应用,但是用红外显微成像光谱研究岩心的工作则少有报道。文章报道了应用透射和衰减全反射(ATR)两种方式对含油岩心进行了显微红外光谱成像(Mapping)的研究。从灵敏度、信噪比、光谱分辨率和空间分辨率以及工作效率等方面对两种方式所得实验结果进行了比较和评估。     

Meeting Report: PhotoEmission Electron Microscopy (PEEM) Workshop at Diamond Light Source

When Diamond Light Source goes into operation in January 2007, one of the first beamlines will house a state-of-the-art PhotoEmission Electron Microscope (PEEM). On July 12 and 13, 2006, Diamond hosted a workshop to promote the wide-ranging capabilities of PEEM to the user community. An international audience enjoyed talks and discussions on interface magnetism, geological science, surface chemistry and the principles of X-ray excited PEEM.     

Facility update: Diamond Light Source Welcomes its First Users

In January 2007 Diamond became the most recent third generation synchrotron light source to go into operation. Following a first call for proposals in November, it is currently welcoming experienced users to carry out experiments as part of the beamline optimization process before regular user operation begins later in the year. Table 1 lists the main parameters of Diamond's accelerators.     

透射式能见度仪定标光源光谱模拟方法

透射式能见度仪的校准结果无法溯源到世界气象组织对气象光学视程(MOR)的定义,如何实现MOR定义中2700 K白炽灯的光谱模拟已成为透射式能见度仪定标技术亟待解决的关键问题,故对透射式能见度仪定标光源的光谱模拟方法进行了研究。首先,从理论上分析了光谱不匹配对透射式能见度仪定标的影响,建立了满足透射式能见度仪定标精度要求的光源光谱分布判别依据,得出透射式能见度仪定标光源的光谱模拟误差应优于±5.5%的结论。然后,基于一种数字微镜器件(DMD)的透射式能见度仪定标光源系统,在遗传算法基础上,提出了一种基于无余均分机制的光谱模拟方法,以均分800列DMD微镜阵列面为前提,通过不断均匀划分DMD阵列面的方式增加光谱拟合单元数量,实现了2700 K绝对色温的光谱模拟。最后,测试了20,50,80个基础光谱拟合单元对应的定标光源的光谱分布,并进行了不确定度分析。测试结果表明,80个基础光谱拟合单元对应的定标光源光谱模拟误差为±5.3%,扩展不确定度为4.04%。