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BM28 - XMaS, the UK CRG beamline

Synopsis

XMaS is a materials science research beamline dedicated to the study of functional materials in situ and/or in operando conditions. It offers a wide range of techniques, sample environments and detectors, facilitating studies of soft and hard condensed matter, physical chemistry, as well as solid and liquid interfaces.
Status:  open

Disciplines

  • Physics
  • Materials and Engineering
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Cultural Heritage
  • Chemistry
  • Medicine

Applications

  • Magnetic sensors and recording media
  • Semiconductor industry
  • Aerospace
  • Catalysis
  • Energy storage
  • Solar cells
  • Medical physics (cancer treatment)
  • Preservation of cultural heritage
  • Dental care

Techniques

  • EXAFS - extended X-ray absorption fine structure
  • GID - grazing incidence diffraction
  • GISAXS - grazing incidence small-angle scattering
  • GIWAXS - grazing incidence wide angle X-ray scattering
  • Magnetic diffraction
  • Polarisation analysis
  • Resonant diffraction
  • REXS - resonant elastic X-ray scattering
  • SAXS - small-angle X-ray scattering
  • SXRD - surface X-ray diffraction
  • WAXS - wide-angle X-ray scattering
  • X-ray scattering
  • XAFS - X-ray absorption fine structure
  • XANES - X-ray absorption near-edge structure
  • XAS - X-ray absorption spectroscopy
  • XRD - X-ray diffraction
  • XRF - X-ray fluorescence
  • XRR - X-ray reflectivity

Energy range

  • 2.04 - 47.0  keV

Beam size

  • Minimum (H x V) : 10.0 x 10.0  µm²
  • Maximum (H x V) : 100.0 x 100.0  µm²

Sample environments

  • AC and DC electric fields
  • 4 T magnetic field
  • 1 K to 800 K sample environment
  • Electrochemistry

Detectors

  • Avalanche photo-diodes
  • Scintillators
  • Photodiodes
  • Ionisation chambers
  • Single photon counting pixel 2D detectors (Pilatus3 300k, Pilatus3 1M, Maxipix 2x2, Lambda 750k CdTe)
  • MAR CCD camera

Technical details

The XMaS beamline can be operated in 2 different modes: (1) focused and monochromatic beam (2.035-47 keV), (2) unfocused and monochromatic beam (5-48 keV). A third mode, white beam, is not yet implemented. At present, the beamline mostly uses a focused and monochromatic beam. The available techniques are: scattering (GI-SAXS, GI-WAXS), diffraction (XRD, SXRD, REXS, XRMS) and spectroscopy (XAS, i.e. XANES and EXAFS). Included in a wide range of sample environments, XMaS also possesses a special cryostat and pumping system especially dedicated to actinides and transuranics, such as depleted uranium, plutonium, neptunium and curium. X-ray scattering modes include resonant, non-resonant and magnetic scattering. X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and magnetic reflectivity (XRMR) measurements are also possible.

 

[1] Beamline paper: S.D. Brown et al., Journal of Synchrotron Radiation 8 (2001) 1172-1.

[2] Phase-plates: L. Bouchenoire et al., Nucl. Inst. & Methods A 566 (2006) 733-738.

[3] Phase-plates: L. Bouchenoire et al., J. Synchrotron Rad., 10 (2003) 172-176.