Harmonic radiation contribution and X-ray transmission at the Small Quantum Systems instrument of European XFEL

Measurements of the transmission as well as the contribution of harmonic radiation at the soft X-ray beamline of the Small Quantum Systems instrument at the SASE3 undulator of European XFEL are presented.

A MHz X-ray diffraction set-up for dynamic compression experiments in the diamond anvil cell

A MHz X-ray diffraction set-up for the investigation of material behaviour under dynamic compression in a diamond anvil cell at intermediate strain rates has been developed at the High Energy Density (HED) instrument at the European XFEL.

Towards a wavefront-preservation X-ray crystal monochromator for high-repetition-rate FELs

The thermal deformation requirement for wavefront preservation through an X-ray crystal monochromator is found to restrict the standard deviation of the height error to less than 25 pm under certain conditions. By optimizing the effective cooling temperature of liquid-nitro­gen-cooled crystals, combined with compensation of the second-order component of the thermal deformation, an approach to reach this unprecedented requirement is described.

Development of a custom-made 2.8 T permanent-magnet dipole photon source for the ROCK beamline at SOLEIL

Since August 2021, the French synchrotron light source SOLEIL has been running with a 1 m-long permanent-magnet dipole producing a magnetic field of 2.8 T. This is a major modification of the storage ring that allows the high-energy photon flux for the ROCK beamline to be increased and significantly improves the resolution for experiments performed above 20 keV.

X-ray mirrors with sub-nanometre figure errors obtained by differential deposition of thin WSi₂ films

The surface figure of an X-ray mirror has been corrected by differential deposition of WSi₂ films.

A compact gas attenuator for the SwissFEL ATHOS beamline realized using additive manufacturing

A compact gas attenuator for the SwissFEL ATHOS beamline with a custom manifold realized using additive manufacturing is described. First results show that the response is as expected from theoretical calculations.

EIGER2 hybrid-photon-counting X-ray detectors for advanced synchrotron diffraction experiments

A presentation of how EIGER2 detectors work and how to best use their newly released features for fast image acquisitions and advanced acquisition schemes.

Analysis of the dislocation activity of Mg–Zn–Y alloy using synchrotron radiation under tensile loading

The convolutional multiple whole profile fitting method of X-ray line profile analysis using synchrotron radiation allows the experimental determination of dislocation densities separately for different Burgers vectors up to a high degree of deformation. Its reliability for Mg–Zn–Y alloys, in terms of the dislocation activity during tensile deformation, has been successfully verified by combined analysis with electron backscatter diffraction investigation and visco-plastic self-consistent simulation.

Soft X-ray spectro-ptychography of boron nitride nanobamboos, carbon nanotubes and permalloy nanorods

First B-edge (192 eV) soft X-ray ptychography, challenges related to weak scattering, measurement approaches and reconstructions in energies as low as 180 eV are discussed.

Phase segregation and miscibility of TiO_x nanocomposites in Gd-doped ceria solid electrolyte material

The local structure of titania–ceria composites in a Gd-doped ceria solid electrolyte material is obtained by a combination of X-ray absorption fine structure and X-ray diffraction over the entire range of Ti composition. A compositional region (between 19 and 57%) with strongly distorted TiO₆ units and coexistence of Ce(III) and Ce(IV) was discovered, i.e. optimized for oxygen transport conduction and in agreement with the enhanced electro-chemo-mechanical effect previously observed in this composition range.

Qu­antitative alignment parameter estimation for analyzing X-ray photoelectron spectra

A model of an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiment accounting for photon beam asperities, sample geometry and kinetic energy analyzer is introduced. This model is related via the alignment parameter to a simple model commonly used for data interpretation. An alignment parameter estimation method is introduced and tested with simulated and experimental data.

Translocation and fate of nanospheres in pheochromocytoma cells following exposure to synchrotron-sourced terahertz radiation

Synchrotron-sourced radiation-driven internalization and localization of nanospheres inside mammalian cells.

Micropipette aspiration as a tool for single-particle X-ray imaging and diffraction

Micropipette aspiration has been combined with a windowless hydrated sample environment for single-particle X-ray analysis. A water droplet serves as a `chamber', covered by a mineral oil to prevent evaporation. In the droplet, particles can be aspirated and manipulated by one or two micropipettes. The system was evaluated on two undulator beamlines, using grains, giant lipid vesicles, colloids and macrophages as test objects. Holographic near-field images were recorded.

Mapping nanocrystal orientations via scanning Laue diffraction microscopy for multi-peak Bragg coherent diffraction imaging

A workflow for orienting and mapping nanocrystals on a substrate of a different material lattice using scanning Laue diffraction microscopy has been established.

Towards joint in situ determination of pressure and temperature in the large volume press exclusively from X-ray diffraction

Research in high-pressure devices, such as the diamond anvil cell and the large volume press, requires knowledge of the pressure and temperature in the sample. Here, a large volume press and an internal resistive heater were used to generate high load and heat to various combinations of intimately mixed powders of materials. X-ray diffraction and custom software were used to jointly estimate the pressures and temperatures in the samples and establish calibrants for in situ experiments at extreme conditions.

Full-field hard X-ray nano-tomography at SSRF

A demonstration of full-field hard X-ray nano-tomography for high- and low-Z material samples is presented for the two TXM resolution modes developed at beamline BL18B at SSRF.

A von Hámos spectrometer for diamond anvil cell experiments at the High Energy Density Instrument of the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser

The implementation of a von Hámos spectrometer for diamond anvil cell experiments at the High Energy Density Instrument of the EuXFEL is described.

FlexPES: a versatile soft X-ray beamline at MAX IV Laboratory

A new versatile beamline for experiments with soft X-ray absorption, photoelectron emission and electron–ion coincidence spectroscopies is available at MAX IV Laboratory, Sweden, serving user communities from ultra-high-vacuum surface science to materials science and low-density matter research.

High-pressure single-crystal diffraction at the Australian Synchrotron

A new high-pressure single-crystal diffraction setup has been designed and implemented at the Australian Synchrotron for collecting molecular and protein crystal structures.

Soft X-ray beamline BL1N2 at Aichi Synchrotron Radiation Center and its industrial use

Basic information about beamline BL1N2, the effect of ageing by synchrotron radiation to suppress mirror contamination, and efforts to support industrial use are reported.

In situ X-ray area detector flat-field correction at an operating photon energy without flat illumination. Corrigendum

Corrigendum to the article by Weng et al. (2023) [J. Synchrotron Rad. 30, 546–554].

Aldo Félix Craievich (1939–2023)

Obituary for Aldo Félix Craievich.