B. Schmitt

The PILATUS 1M detector.

The PILATUS 1M detector is a hybrid pixel array detector with over one million pixels that operate in single photon counting mode. The detector, designed for macromolecular crystallography, is the largest pixel array detector currently in use at a synchrotron. It is a modular system consisting of 18 multichip modules covering an area of 21 cm x 24 cm. The design of the components as well as the manufacturing of the detector including the bump-bonding was performed at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). The use of a single photon counting detector for protein crystallography requires detailed studies of the charge collection properties of the silicon sensor. The 18 modules are read out in parallel, leading to a full frame readout-time of 6.7 ms. This allows crystallographic data to be acquired in fine-varphi-slicing mode with continuous rotation of the sample. The detector was tested in several experiments at the protein crystallography beamline X06SA at the Swiss Light Source at PSI. Data were collected both in conventional oscillation mode using the shutter, as well as in a fine-varphi-slicing mode. After applying all the necessary corrections to data from a thaumatin crystal, the processing of the conventional data led to satisfactory merging R-factors of the order of 8.5%. This allows, for the first time, determination of a refined electron density map of a macromolecular biological crystal using a silicon pixel detector.

Performance of single-photon-counting PILATUS detector modules

Characterization of PILATUS single-photon-counting X-ray detector modules regarding charge sharing, energy resolution and rate capability is presented. The performance of the detector was tested with surface diffraction experiments at the synchrotron.

The MYTHEN detector for X-ray powder diffraction experiments at the Swiss Light Source

A report on the characterization, calibration and performances of the MYTHEN photon-counting silicon microstrip detector at the powder diffraction station at the Swiss Light Source is given.

Mythen detector system

Time-resolved experiments in powder diffraction are limited by the long time required to record spectra with current detectors. A major improvement can be made by using a massively parallel X-ray detection system together with a fast read out. The Mythen detector (Microstrip system for time-resolved experiments) has been built for the Powder Diffraction Station of the Material Science beamline at the Swiss Light Source to meet these requirements. The specifically developed read out chip (Mythen chip), the detector system and first measurements are shown.

A von Hamos x-ray spectrometer based on a segmented-type diffraction crystal for single-shot x-ray emission spectroscopy and time-resolved resonant inelastic x-ray scattering studies

We report on the design and performance of a wavelength-dispersive type spectrometer based on the von Hamos geometry. The spectrometer is equipped with a segmented-type crystal for x-ray diffraction and provides an energy resolution in the order of 0.25 eV and 1 eV over an energy range of 8000 eV-9600 eV. The use of a segmented crystal results in a simple and straightforward crystal preparation that allows to preserve the spectrometer resolution and spectrometer efficiency. Application of the spectrometer for time-resolved resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and single-shot x-ray emission spectroscopy is demonstrated.

Coherent science at the SwissFEL x-ray laser

The Paul Scherrer Institute is planning the construction of a hard-x-ray free-electron laser, the SwissFEL, by 2016, which will produce intense, ultrashort pulses of transversely coherent radiation in the wavelength range 0.1?7?nm, with future extensions to cover the range 0.08?30?nm. Special design considerations include (a) a compact construction, compatible with the status of a national facility, (b) a uniform 100?Hz repetition rate, well suited to sample manipulations and detector readout, (c) flexible wavelength tuning by the electron beam energy and undulator gaps, (d) soft x-rays at approximately 1?nm wavelength, with circular polarization and Fourier-transform-limited pulses, (e)?hard x-rays of pulse duration 5?20?fs and (f) an independent source of high-energy, half-cycle terahertz pump pulses. The science case for the Swiss FEL project, which emphasizes the dynamics of condensed matter systems and the damage-free imaging of nanostructures, includes novel considerations that make optimal use of these features.

On the Microstructure of Nanoporous Gold: An X-ray Diffraction Study

The evolution of the grain structure, internal strain, and the lattice misorientations of nanoporous gold during dealloying of bulk (3D) Ag-Au alloy samples was studied by various in situ and ex situ X-ray diffraction techniques including powder and Laue diffraction. The experiments reveal that the dealloying process preserves the original crystallographic structure but leads to a small spread in orientations within individual grains. Initially, most grains develop in-plane tensile stresses, which are partly released during further dealloying. Simultaneously, the feature size of the developing nanoporous structure increases with increasing dealloying time. Finally, microdiffraction experiments on dealloyed micron-sized nanoporous pillars reveal significant surface damage introduced by focused ion beam milling.

PILATUS: a two-dimensional X-ray detector for macromolecular crystallography

A large quantum-limited area X-ray detector for protein crystallography is under development at the Swiss Light Source. The final detector will be 2k � 2k pixels covering 40 � 40 cm 2 : A three-module prototype with 1120 � 157 pixels covering an active area of 24:3 � 3: 4c m 2 has been tested. X-rays above 6 keV with peak count rates exceeding 5 � 10 5 X-ray/pixel/s could be detected in single photon counting mode. Statistics of module production and results of threshold trimming are presented. To demonstrate the potential of this new detector, protein crystal data were collected at beamline 6S of the SLS. r 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 87.64.Bx

Diffractive imaging for periodic samples: retrieving one-dimensional concentration profiles across microfluidic channels

A technique has been developed that allows determination of the concentration profiles of colloidal solutions or any kind of fluid under confinement. Currently, submicrometre-wide channels are sampled with a resolution in the 10 nm range. The method comprises regular arrays of microfluidic channels and one-dimensional X-ray phase-retrieval techniques for the analysis of small-angle X-ray diffraction from the array structures. Recording the X-ray diffraction data requires a low dose on each individual channel since the sum of the signals from all channels is detected. The determined concentration profiles represent the ensemble average rather than individual entities and are obtained in a model-independent way. As an example, amplitude and phase of the exit field and concentration profiles for a colloidal fluid within confining channels of different widths are shown.

Capturing dynamics with Eiger, a fast-framing X-ray detector

A high-frame-rate single-photon-counting pixel detector named Eiger and its suitability for X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy are described.