issue contents

Journal logoJOURNAL OF
SYNCHROTRON
RADIATION
ISSN: 1600-5775

May 2015 issue

Special issue on X-ray Free-Electron Lasers

Guest Editors: Ilme Schlichting, William E. White and Makina Yabashi

Highlighted illustration

Cover illustration: Spin transition in the iron complex [FeII(bpy)3]2+ (see Chollet et al., pages 503-507). After light excitation the molecule undergoes several electronic transitions and populates a metastable high spin state with expanded molecular geometry within less than 200 fs. Using the ultrashort time structure of free-electron laser pulses, the electronic and structural properties of the complex during this transitions can be studied by X-ray spectroscopy.

facility information


free-electron lasers


J. Synchrotron Rad. (2015). 22, 471
https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600577515008176
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This issue of the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation is a special issue on X-ray free-electron lasers. Here, a brief introduction to these special issue papers is given.

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The present status of the Linac Coherent Light Source as a user facility is presented. Opportunities and challenges as well as the scientific impact of X-ray free-electron lasers are discussed.

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An overview of SACLA operating as a user facility is presented. An updated status of the light source and the beamline is summarized. Key scientific achievements reported in 2013 and 2014 and the main experimental systems are reviewed. A perspective of the facility upgrade is given.


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A description of the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Sciences (AMO) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source is presented. Recent scientific highlights illustrate the imaging, time-resolved spectroscopy and high-power density capabilities of the AMO instrument.

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A description of the Soft X-ray Research instrument (SXR) at the Linac Coherent Light Source is given. Recent scientific highlights illustrate the wide variety of experiments and detectors that can be accommodated at SXR.

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A description of the X-ray Pump–Probe (XPP) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source. is presented. Recent scientific highlights illustrate the versatility and the time-resolved X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy capabilities of the XPP instrument.

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A description of the X-ray Correlation Spectroscopy instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source is presented. Recent highlights illustrate the coherence properties of the source as well as some recent dynamics measurements and future directions.

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Description of the Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Recent scientific highlights illustrate the femtosecond crystallography, high power density and extreme matter capabilities of the CXI instrument.

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A description of the Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source is given. Recent scientific highlights illustrate phase-contrast imaging of shock waves, X-ray Thomson scattering and X-ray diffraction of shocked materials.




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The experimental station at the DiProI beamline exploits the unique features of the seeded FERMI-FEL for performing a wide range of static and dynamic scattering studies using various experimental set-ups.


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The photon transport and diagnostics system of FERMI (PADReS) is endowed with online and shot-to-shot diagnostics giving information about intensity, spatial-angular distribution, spectral content, as well as other diagnostics to determine coherence, pulse length etc. Moreover, it can manipulate the beam in terms of intensity and optical parameters. A general description of the system is given, together with some selected results from the commissioning/operations/user beam time.

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A data acquisition system for X-ray free-electron laser experiments has been developed at SACLA. The system was designed for reliable shot-to-shot data storage with a high data stream greater than 4 Gbps and massive data analysis.

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This paper offers an overview of area detectors developed for use at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) with particular emphasis on their impact on science. The experimental needs leading to the development of second-generation cameras for LCLS are discussed and the new detector prototypes are presented.

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A procedure to correct signal-dependent nonlinear signal distortions in an area detector is introduced and tested on diffuse scattering signals measured at a free-electron laser.

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The current status and prospective applications of nanofocusing for X-ray free-electron lasers are presented.

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An application of speckle size analysis for characterizing the focus at a free-electron laser source is presented. The performance of the speckle-based beam focus diagnostic is also compared with other common focus characterization techniques.

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A gas monitor detector was implemented and characterized at the Soft X-ray Research instrument (SXR) to measure the average, absolute and pulse-resolved photon flux of the LCLS beam in the energy range between 280 and 2000 eV.

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A description of hard X-ray photon-in photon-out spectroscopy techniques for X-ray free electron laser applications is given. A discussion of the instrumentation suitable for taking full advantage of these new sources and a description of recent measurements performed and related examples are also presented.

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This paper describes new instrumentation developments at the LCLS for materials studies using THz laser excitation and resonant soft X-ray scattering.


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Serial operation of FEL experiments was performed using the spent beam typically discarded after passing through a hole in a detector. The beam profile was characterized and results for two simultaneous experiments are reported.

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The effects of various distributions, such as the spectral and unit-cell distributions, on the quality of Monte Carlo-integrated serial femtosecond crystallography data are investigated.

research papers


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A novel measurement scheme that allows multiplexed simultaneous measurements from multiple nearby sample volumes is reported.

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It is essential but inconvenient to perform high-quality on-line optimization for synchrotron radiation beamlines. To solve this problem, a general method based on the genetic algorithm for automatic beamline optimization is introduced.

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Details of an original design of a bendable parabolic cylinder collimating X-ray mirror with active temperature stabilization are presented. The design grants assembly without spurious stresses, optimal alignment and shaping of the mirror. A motorized sagittal motion allows new areas of the mirror to be used when the current area is damaged or contaminated.

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By providing the capabilities for high-resolution, high-energy and time-resolved powder X-ray diffraction, beamline P02.1 is a versatile tool to tackle various problems in materials science, crystallography and chemistry.


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The count rate behaviour of PILATUS3 detectors has been characterized for seven bunch modes at four different synchrotrons. The instant retrigger technology of the PILATUS3 application-specific integrated circuit is found to reduce the dependency of the required rate correction on the synchrotron bunch mode. The improvement of using bunch mode specific rate corrections based on a Monte Carlo simulation is quantified.

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The concept of a two-dimensional multichannel electron spin detector based on Mott scattering and imaging-type electron optics is presented. The efficiency increase of about four orders of magnitude opens new scientific fields including buried magnetic interfaces.

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Simultaneous wide-angle X-ray scattering and scanning nanocalorimetric measurements are performed during the thermal processing of thin-film bilayers of Pd/a-Si to form Pd2Si.


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The first use of pseudo-single-bunch pulse picking in time-resolved experiments at the Advanced Light Source is reported. The pseudo-single-bunch technique improves signal to noise and drastically reduces dose-induced sample damage.

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An apparatus specially designed for in situ XAS measurements of liquid phase reactions is presented, which allowed the changes in the Pt L3-edge to be monitored during the formation of Pt nanoparticles in aqueous solution.

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The performance of the spectroscopic LEEM-PEEM experimental station at the ALBA Synchrotron is presented: XPEEM lateral resolution down to better than 20 nm, electron energy resolution below 0.15 eV, and excellent long-term stability.

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The presented results show the comparative results in interface mixing under 30 keV Ga+ ion irradiation of ultrathin trilayers Pt/Co/Pt and Pt/Co/Au and their influence on the amplitude of magnetic anisotropy.

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The development of a novel experimental capability of nuclear resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at high pressure and low temperature is presented. The new capability is demonstrated by studying the Fe-specific phonon density of states and magnetism in Eu57Fe2As2.

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This paper updates an approach to high-resolution X-ray emission spectroscopy that uses a microcalorimeter detector array of superconducting transition-edge sensors (TESs). TES arrays are discussed and compared with conventional methods.


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Hard X-ray lithography using an X-ray nano-beam focused by a Fresnel zone plate is demonstrated to be capable of achieving a patterning resolution better than 25 nm at E = 7.5 keV.

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The presented techniques simplify the sampling process and information retrieval algorithm in diffraction enhanced imaging. They also allow improvements of fast imaging researches using synchrotron radiation.

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A speckle suppression device containing highly porous nanoberyllium is proposed for manipulating the spatial coherence length and removing undesirable speckle structure during imaging experiments.

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Building on previous work, a phase-preserving bent Laue beam-expanding monochromator was developed with the capability of performing live animal phase contrast dynamic imaging at the Biomedical Imaging and Therapy beamline at the Canadian Light Source.

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A novel method for dual-energy X-ray analysis is tested against mono-energetic CT measurements with dilute salt solutions, and delivers volumetric maps representing electron density and the fourth statistical moment that describes elemental composition. The results are combined with models for the X-ray linear attenuation coefficient and mass energy absorption coefficient to predict interaction coefficients at photon energies 10 keV to 20 MeV, with applications for calculating attenuation correction and radiation absorbed dose.

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Water window ptychographic coherent diffractive imaging was demonstrated at the P04 beamline of PETRA III synchrotron radiation source. The beam coherence was characterized with the non-redundant array method.

beamlines


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JEEP is a high-energy (50–150 keV) multi-purpose beamline offering polychromatic and monochromatic modes. It can accommodate large samples and experimental rigs, enabling in situ studies using radiography, tomography, energy-dispersive diffraction, monochromatic and white-beam two-dimensional diffraction/scattering and small-angle X-ray scattering.

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XAFCA, a new X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy beamline for fundamental and applied catalysis research, built by the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences and the Singapore Synchrotron Light Source, is presented.

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UV-CD12 at ANKA and its current end-station are described, with a standard module for vacuum-UV synchrotron radiation circular dichroism of bio-macromolecules in the liquid state, and a unique module for macroscopically oriented lipid membranes (oriented circular dichroism).

computer programs


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DAWN is a generic data analysis software platform that has been developed for use at synchrotron beamlines for data visualization and analysis. Its generic design makes it suitable for use in a range of scientific and engineering applications.

laboratory notes


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A homemade mirror for X-rays has been built to prepare a diffraction beamline for liquid surface diffraction and scattering measurements.

addenda and errata



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