Data Aquisition

For upcoming run 2008-02
(May 16, 2008)

16ID-D: Two techniques in 2008-2: NFS/NRIXS and IXS/Raman.

Because of the timing mode schedule in 2008-2, the NFS/NRIXS will be set up in the first half of the run. As a spectroscopy station, the DCM continues to be a focus in routine operation. We still experience some glitches of DCM operation in this cycle. A new diamond crystal holder will be installed in the DCM in April, and tested in the current cycle (2008-1). We hope that will improve the DCM operation. Further information will be posted after the test. For NSF/NRIXS experiments, there is no major update; we will continue use the 2meV HRM and our existing APDs. For IXS/Raman, we will commission the new 17-element analyzer, and make available to user operation.

16ID-B: We plan to schedule all laser heating experiments in the first half, when IDD station in NFS/NRIXS mode. During this first half period, there will be no wavelength change involved, thus keeping a robust alignment between x-ray and laser optics. Consequently, the experiments on general purpose table will be in the second half.

16BM-D: The newly installed monochromator performs very well. Energies can be changed from 6 keV to 34 keV in the low-E mode and from 6 keV to 70 keV in the high-E mode without affecting the beam position at sample. The energy is tunable and can be scanned. With the 1.2m-long large KB mirror, we are able to focus the beam down to 8-10 um in vertical direction. The beamsize at the sample position is then 5(h)x8(v) um^2 at FWHM, making this station a very good one for micro-ADXD measurements. Compared to IDB, the flux at BMD is a factor of 50 lower. So please plan your experiments accordingly. We plan to commission x-ray absorption and anomalous scattering at HP. Further results will be posted.

16BM-B: The upgraded base table and the new tip perform well. The micro EDXD is now routine at BMB. The single crystal diffraction with EDXD is now open to general users. A new type of absorption spectroscopy, Laue absorption spectroscopy, is under development. This method uses the smooth white beam; the energy of the transmitted beam is dispersed by an analyzer (flat single crystal silicon), providing absorption information. It has advantages of high energy resolution, information of multiple elements from single measurement, and fixed beam position on sample.

Supporting equipments:

*On-line Raman system – The upgraded system will be capable of measuring weak Raman signals and will be available in 2008-2 or in 2008-3, depending on the other beamline tasks.

*Membrane control systems - are installed in BMD. A portable control system is under construction and will be available in 2008-2.

*The floor ruby system will be upgraded with a new spectrometer, and will make it available in 2008-2.

For upcoming run 2008-1
(Nov 8, 2007)

16ID-D: We plan to setup two techniques in 2008-1: NFS/NRIXS and XES/RXES.

A pair of 200mm-long KB mirrors will be installed, which allows to focus x-ray beam down to about 5-10 microns. The use of the small KB mirror will reduce flux at sample position, depending on setup configurations, by a factor of 5 to 20. A cryostat for NSF experiment is available. Another new cryostat for XES is still under construction. APD detectors for NSF/NRIXS are being developed by collaborating with APS. While the initial test was encouraging, the new APDs may not be available in 2008-1, and we will rely on our existing APDs. For XES, efforts have been made to minimize the air path. So the low energy limit for XES may be down to 5 keV or even slightly less.

16ID-B: The operation of both the general purpose table and the laser heating table is now getting routine, while we constantly improve the aspects of user-friendliness. To minimize the switch-over time between two tables, we plan to schedule all experiments with the general purpose table in the first half of 2008-1, and the experiments with the laser heating table in the second half.

16BM-D: The newly installed monochromator performs very well. Energies can be changed from 6 keV to 34 keV in the low-E mode and from 34 keV to 70 keV in the high-E mode without affecting the beam position at sample. The 1.2m-long large KB mirror operates well, focusing 2 mm x-ray beam to about 15 microns in vertical direction, gaining a lot of flux. High resolution experiments have been commissioned with the UNLV group at BMD. The resolution increased by a factor of 5-8 compared to those by using MAR-IP. Such experiments will be very well suited in BMD because both area detectors (CCD or IP) and solid state detector (or other more sensitive point detectors from APS detector pool) are available and quickly switchable during experiment. One may use an area detector for “normal” ADXD experiments. When found, particular regions for a need of high resolution switch to point detector (or SSD) for high resolution angle scan. Although white beam is in principle available in this station, we will schedule all white beam experiments in BMB station and make this station in the monochromatic mode, unless there is a new development requiring the unique capability of this station.

16BM-B: We have replaced the old base breadboard by a thicker one. The new system is more stable now. The tip for the detector collimation has been upgraded, making it possible to change its size and locate very close to sample. Both area detector and solid state detector are available and switchable. The single crystal experiment with EDXD will be open to general users from 2008-1.

Supporting equipments:

*On-line Raman system – This system is under upgrade. It will be available for 2008-1.

*On-line ruby systems – A couple of on-line ruby systems are under design/construction. One proto-type has been tested, but we want to further improve the design and performance. The availability for 2008-1 is still uncertain.

*Membrane control systems and motor driven mechanism have been developed. The standard fit is for symmetrical type cell. Other cells are possible, but need to work with beamline scientists at HPCAT for special adapters.

*The floor ruby system will be upgraded with a new spectrometer, and will be made available in 2008-1.

For upcoming run 2007-3
(Sept 11, 2007)

16ID-D: The IDD station will be setup for two types of experiments - inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS,
X-ray Raman) and X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). Please note that nuclear resonance scattering (NRIXS, NFS) is not available in 2007-3.

16ID-B: Two dedicated tables have been established. To minimize the switch-over time between two tables, we plan to arrange all experiments with the laser heating table in the first half of 2007-3, and the experiments with the general purpose table in the second half.

16BM-D: A new monochromator has been just installed for this station. The commissioning is going well. By the time of this writing, BM-D has received monochromatic beam with expected flux numbers. The large (1-m long) mirror is being installed, which is necessary in order to gain flux at the sample position. We anticipate that all the commissioning can be done during the 2007-2 run. Some beamtime has been already assigned to member users in July and August in this run. Please be advised that this is a commissioning period. Please check with beamline scientists for updated information before you make final trips to HPCAT.

In 2007-3, the BMD station will operate 100% in monochromatic mode. The new monochromator is flexible in energy (6-70 keV), delivers ~10^9 photons/s at the sample position at 30keV. There will be two operation modes: one the low energy mode (6-35 keV), the other high energy mode (35-70 keV). This is because of the need of angle adjustment of focusing mirrors, thus requiring time for the system re-alignment. We will schedule experiments in the high energy mode toward the end of the run 2007-3. In both modes, the mono x-ray energies may be changed or scanned without affecting the x-ray beam position.

16BM-B: The station is setup for energy dispersive diffraction with a beam size of ~5 microns. Bulky and heavy equipments (e.g., cryostat, resistively heating device, PE) can be accommodated.

All stations are open to general users in 2007-3.

For upcoming run 2007-2
(May, 2007)

16ID-D: The IDD station will be setup for two types of experiments - nuclear resonance scattering (NRIXS, NFS), and inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS, x-ray Raman). Please note that x-ray emission scattering is not available in 2007-2. Because of the synchrotron timing modes in 2007-2, we need to schedule the IXS/Raman in the first half, and the NRIXS/NFS in the second half of 2007-2. Open to all users.

16ID-B: Two dedicated tables have been established. One is the so-called general purpose diffraction table with micro-diffraction setup integrated with MAR-IP and MAR-CCD. Cryostat and similar bulky devices can be accommodated on the general purpose table. The other (laser heating table) is for in situ laser heating experiments. To minimize the switch-over time between two tables, we plan to arrange all experiments with the general purpose table setup in the first half of 2007-2, and the experiments with laser heating in the second half. Open to all users.

16BM-D: This station will have monochromatic beam in 2007-2! We will reserve a few weeks for installation of the monochromator and the large focusing mirror, and for commissioning new capabilities with the mono beam such as micro-diffraction with area detector and x-ray absorption. Compared to the micro-diffraction at IDB, the BMD setup will have less flux at the sample position (about two orders of magnitude less). For example, instead of a few second collecting time in IDB, it may need a few minutes in BMD for diffraction collection. However, x-ray energy will be more flexible in BMD (6-70 keV), e.g., for high resolution with low energies, or large Q-coverage with high energies. Starting from the middle of July in 2007-2, the BMD will open to members for diffraction experiments with the mono beam. Starting from the fall cycle of 2007-3, the mono will open to all GUP users.

16BM-B: The station is setup for energy dispersive diffraction with a beam size of ~5 microns. Bulky and heavy equipments (e.g., cryostat, resistively heating device, PE) may be accommodated. The station is open to all users.

For upcoming run 2007-1
(Nov. 21, 2006)

       16ID-D: The IDD station will be setup for two types of experiments - nuclear resonance scattering (NRIXS, NFS), and x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES, RXES). Please note that x-ray Raman/inelastic x-ray scattering is not available in 2007-1.

       16ID-B: In additions to the micro-diffraction setup with IP and CCD, the newly re-configured on-line laser heating system will be available in this period. Cryostat experiments are also possible, but could be under tight scheduling constraints.

       16BM-D and 16BM-B: Both stations are currently setup for energy dispersive diffraction with a beam size of ~5 microns. Bulky and heavy equipments (e.g., cryostat, resistively heating device, PE) may be accommodated. Please note that we plan to install a monochromator for BMD in 2007-1. So starting from 2007-2, 16BM-D will have mono-capabilities for angle dispersive diffraction and x-ray spectroscopy experiments.

For run 2006-3
(Aug., 2006)

In the run cycle of 2006-3, October-December, on-line laser heating capability will not be available in 16-ID-B, due to major re-configuration in the station. The new laser heating system will be operational in the cycle of 2007-1, January-April.

The 16BM beamline at HPCAT will be open to general users starting the run cycle of 2006-3. The bending magnet beamline is equipped with micro-diffraction facilities, and is currently operational in energy dispersive mode. A monochromator will be installed in early 2007 for angle dispersive diffraction and x-ray absorption spectroscopy.

(Nov. 17, 2004)
PLEASE NOTE THESE IMPORTANT CHANGES:

1) From today the new 'sample to BKL-4 top surface' distance is: 3.5" / 89 mm. This is also the new distance for the PRL and off-line alignment systems.

THIS HEIGHT IS NOW THE STANDARD HEIGHT FOR ALL HPCAT STATIONS

2) The PRL white-light illumination now follows the same path as the laser beam so it is best to load the ruby on the downstream side of the DAC.

3) The PRL is now fully motorized and contained within an interlocked safety enclosure SO THAT THE SYSTEM IS NOW Class I, so neither an eye examination nor laser safety courses are required. All alignment controls are via a PC and sample observation via a camera and monitor.

Updated on Nov. 05, 2007 by V. O'Connor