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.

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

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.