Diffraction beamlines

I07 - Surface and Interface Diffraction

I07 - is a high-resolution X-ray diffraction beamline for investigating the structure of surfaces and interfaces under different environmental conditions, including ultra-high vacuum and real-world controlled atmosphere and liquid environments.

Benefits:

• Allows the application of Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering (GISAXS) and X-ray reflectivity (XRR) techniques in addition to Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXD)
• Enables the structure of surfaces and interfaces to be investigated under a wide range of well-defined and controllable environments
• Enables the detailed study of surfaces and interfaces on an atomic scale
• Provides exceptional quality, enabling the use of coherent scattering and the application of microfocus optics.

Best For:

• Structural investigations of solid, liquid and buried interfaces
• Studies into biological and chemical processes
• Investigations into the structure of surfaces and interfaces under different environmental conditions
• The study of disordered surfaces
• In situ investigations.

I11 – Powder Diffraction

I11 is a high resolution powder diffraction beamline used for determining the structure of materials that do not necessarily form large, ordered crystals.

This versatile beamline is perfect for material characterisation, crystal structure solving, phase identification and phase quantification. It’s high resolution and speed allows for in situ studies that accurately determine phase transitions and variations in lattice parameter of complex multi phase systems.

Benefits:

• Combines very high angular resolution, high count rates, automation, and controlled environmental conditions, allowing detailed structural analyses of complex materials
• The ability to probe deep into sample structures, to detect rapid changes under non-ambient conditions as they occur
• The capabilities to perform resonant diffraction to solve complex structures containing low electron contrasts.

Best For:

• Materials that do not necessarily form large, ordered crystals
• Analysis of many naturally occurring materials such as minerals and artefacts as well as novel man-made materials
• Materials including high temperature semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, mesoporous materials/catalysts, fullerenes and self-assembled nanoscale arrays
• In situ and in operando studies of materials under non-ambient conditions such as high/low temperatures or gas loading.

I12 - Joint Engineering, Environmental and Processing (JEEP)

JEEP is a multi-purpose experimental facility designed to investigate structural integrity and structural changes in bulk samples using diffraction, imaging and tomography techniques.

Benefits:

• Provides high intensity, high energy X-rays capable of penetrating through bulk samples
• The beamline produces very large synchrotron X-ray beams for imaging larger samples
• The ability to accommodate different sample environments, to monitor internal atomic and microscopic structure under in situ conditions
• JEEP provides two experimental areas:
  • high intensity X-ray for diffraction and imaging experiments
  • a flexible space for large-scale or complex engineering experiments to take place.

Best For:

• Large-scale or complex engineering experiments
• Bespoke sample environments to monitor real industrial conditions
• Investigation of processes or mechanical behaviour under specific conditions.

I16 - Materials and Magnetism

The Materials and Magnetism beamline provides a unique, world-class X-ray diffraction facility for studying a diverse range of materials. This versatile diffraction facility is fully optimised to combine high flux and high resolution over a wide and continuously tuneable energy range, for diffraction and scattering experiments on both single crystals, thin films and surfaces.

Benefits:

• High flux, high resolution
• Wide and tuneable energy range to enable a wide range of experiments
• Allows in situ studies

Best For:

• Understanding the structure and properties of advanced materials - electronic, mechanical, magnetic
• Measurements on very small sample volumes, including artificial nanostructures, thin films and surfaces
• Measurements of very weak scattering processes.

I22 - Small Angle Scattering and Diffraction

I22 is a multipurpose beamline allowing the recording of both small and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) techniques simultaneously. This enables the user to probe length scales ranging from a few Angstroms to several hundred nanometres with high resolution and apply SAXS and diffraction across a wide range of studies; from drug delivery systems and protein shape analysis through to catalysis, advanced materials development and engineering.

Benefits:

• The high intensity of the X-rays on I22 allows structural investigation of non-crystalline materials under in situ conditions and extreme environments
• The capability to capture data from both small and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) techniques in combination
• Reliable access to millisecond and shorter time scales
• High resolution tuneable energy:
  • Minimum beam divergence: critical for Ultra Small Angle X-ray Scattering (USAXS)
• Partial 2D WAXS capability
• Microfocus capability available.
• Grazing Incidence SAXS (GiSAXS).

Best For:

• Studies on the shape and size of particles and macromolecules such as polymers and proteins which may not be possible using other techniques
• Structural investigation of non-crystalline materials under in situ conditions (for example fluid flow at high pressures and temperatures)
• Understanding kinetic processes such as early folding events in proteins or ordering and alignment in liquid crystalline materials