P03 - Nanofocus

Nanofocus endstation at DESY beamline P03 at PETRA III

Fig 1: Nanofocus Endstation at P03 beamline at PETRA III

Scanning X-ray nanodiffraction (SXND) is an excellent tool for materials science. It provides structural information with sub-µm resolution from crystalline and semi-crystalline materials (e.g. metals, biomaterials, synthetic compounds). That way grain orientation, residual stress profiles, crystal structure or texture can be obtained in a nondestructive analysis. The Nanofocus Endstation of P03 (MINAXS) provides conditions for SXND even in extended in situ sample environments, due to the long focal distance of the used X-ray optics and the high X-ray energy that is available at the beamline.

The nanofocus endstation started operation end of 2010 and steeply increased on user dedicated beam time since, reflecting a high operational efficiency despite the competitive mode of beam time distribution between the two P03 endstations. The beamline P03 and the microfocus endstation of it are operated by DESY (beamline manager Stephan Roth) while the Nanofocus endstation, constructed within a BMBF-funded project by Kiel University, is now operated by Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon in cooperation with Kiel University and DESY.
Nanofocus Endstation is operated by the department "X-Ray Imaging with Synchrotron Radiation" (WPI)

A nanobeam with a size of typically 350 x 250 nm2 is generated using a nanofocusing mirror system with a large focal length of 10 cm. New techniques, using this capacity, are constantly being developed at P03 with a strong focus on material science in order to promote the use of SXND in materials science. 2D X-ray waveguide based focusing is also available for smaller beams. The endstation offers a beam size of 250 nm and an energy in the range 8 - 23 keV.

A clear working distance of 8 cm provides an excellent setting for materials science because it accepts extended in situ sample environments. Experiments at the endstation have used constructions to control for pressure, E/B fields, temperature, fluid shear, tension or indentation force in situ in nanodiffraction experiments. Sample alignment is eased by up to three video microscopes and precision of up to 10 nm for positioning the sample is possible on a set of hexapods.
Nanofocus Endstation of P03 beamline at DESY