Refine
Has Fulltext
- no (13)
Document Type
- Article (13)
Language
- English (13)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (13)
Keywords
- Detector modelling and simulations II (electric fields, charge transport, multiplication and induction, pulse formation, electron emission, etc) (1)
- Energy-dispersive Laue diffraction (1)
- Interaction of radiation with matter (1)
- Solid state detectors (1)
- X-ray imaging (1)
- X-ray spectroscopy (1)
- pnCCD (1)
Institute
A new approach to achieve sub-pixel spatial resolution in a pnCCD detector with 75 x 75 mu m(2) pixel size is proposed for X-ray applications in single photon counting mode. The approach considers the energy dependence of the charge cloud created by a single photon and its split probabilities between neighboring pixels of the detector based on a rectangular model for the charge cloud density. For cases where the charge of this cloud becomes distributed over three or four pixels the center position of photon impact can be reconstructed with a precision better than 2 mu m. The predicted charge cloud sizes are tested at selected X-ray fluorescence lines emitting energies between 6.4 keV and 17.4 keV and forming charge clouds with size (rms) varying between 8 mu m and 10 mu m respectively. The 2 mu m enhanced spatial resolution of the pnCCD is verified by means of an x-ray transmission experiment throughout an optical grating.
In this work we study the response of a pnCCD by means of X-ray spectroscopy in the energy range between 6 key and 20 key and by Laue diffraction techniques. The analyses include measurements of characteristic detector parameters like energy resolution, count rate capability and effects of different gain settings. The limit of a single photon counting operation in white beam X-ray diffraction experiments is discussed with regard to the occurrence of pile-up events, for which the energy information about individual photons is lost. In case of monochromatic illumination the pnCCD can be used as a fast conventional CCD with a charge handling capacity (CHC) of about 300,000 electrons per pixel. If the CHC is exceeded, any surplus charge will spill to neighboring pixels perpendicular to the transfer direction due to electrostatic repulsion. The possibilities of increasing the number of storable electrons are investigated for different voltage settings by exposing a single pixel with X-rays generated by a microfocus X-ray source. The pixel binning mode is tested as an alternative approach that enables a pnCCD operation with significantly shorter readout times.
A crystal of hen egg-white lysozyme was analyzed by means of energy-dispersive X-ray Laue diffraction with white synchrotron radiation at 2.7 angstrom resolution using a pnCCD detector. From Laue spots measured in a single exposure of the arbitrarily oriented crystal, the lattice constants of the tetragonal unit cell could be extracted with an accuracy of about 2.5%. Scanning across the sample surface, Laue images with split reflections were recorded at various positions. The corresponding diffraction patterns were generated by two crystalline domains with a tilt of about 1 degrees relative to each other. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of the pnCCD for fast X-ray screening of crystals of macromolecules or proteins prior to conventional X-ray structure analysis. The described experiment can be automatized to quantitatively characterize imperfect single crystals or polycrystals.
In situ high temperature x-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction measurements in the energy dispersive mode are used to study the ordered face-centered tetragonal (fct) L1(0) phase formation in [Fe(19 angstrom)/ Pt(25 angstrom)](x10) multilayers prepared by ion beam sputtering. With the in situ x-ray measurements it is observed that (i) the multilayer structure first transforms to a disordered FePt and subsequently to an ordered fct L1(0) phase, (ii) the ordered fct L1(0) FePt peaks start to appear at 320°C annealing, (iii) the activation energy of the interdiffusion is 0.8 eV and (iv) ordered fct FePt grains have preferential out-of-plane texture. The magneto-optical Kerr effect and conversion electron Mossbauer spectroscopies are used to study the magnetic properties of the as- deposited and 400°C annealed multilayers. The magnetic data for the 400°C annealed sample indicate that the magnetization is at an angle of ~50° from the plane of the film.
The first application of a pnCCD detector for X-ray scattering experiments using white synchrotron radiation at BESSY II is presented. A Cd arachidate multilayer was investigated in reflection geometry within the energy range 7 keV < E < 35 keV. At fixed angle of incidence the two-dimensional diffraction pattern containing several multilayer Bragg peaks and respective diffuse-resonant Bragg sheets were observed. Since every pixel of the detector is able to determine the energy of every incoming photon with a resolution Delta E/E similar or equal to 10(-2). a three-dimensional dataset is finally obtained. In order to achieve this energy resolution the detector was operated in the so-called single-photon- counting mode. A full dataset was evaluated taking into account all photons recorded within 10(5) detector frames at a readout rate of 200 Hz. By representing the data in reciprocal-space coordinates, it becomes obvious that this experiment with the pnCCD detector provides the same information as that obtained by combining a large number of monochromatic scattering experiments using conventional area detectors.
Experiments using a simple X-ray interferometer to measure the degree of spatial coherence of hard X-rays are reported. A monolithic Fresnel bimirror is used at small incidence angles to investigate synchrotron radiation in the energy interval 5-50 keV with monochromatic and white beam. The experimental setup was equivalent to a Young's double-slit experiment for hard X-rays with slit dimensions in the micrometre range. From the high-contrast interference pattern the degree of coherence was determined.
The third-generation X-ray source BESSYII (Berlin, Germany) provides coherent X-ray radiation which can be used for static and dynamic speckle analysis. Recently we have demonstrated that one can perform experiments with coherent white radiation provided by a bending magnet (5 < E < 20 keV). In this paper we show that the diffraction figure of the initial pinhole must be considered for the interpretation of coherent experiments. The reflectivity spectrum of a sample results from the Fresnel diffraction of the incident pinhole deformed by the static speckle features of the sample surface. For dynamical experiments all speckle like features alter with time whereas the pure Fresnel fringes remain constant. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Temperature dependent energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction and magnetic study of Fe/Al interface
(2007)
In situ temperature dependent energy-dispersive structural and magnetic study of electron beam evaporated Fe/Al multilayer sample (MLS) has been investigated. The structural studies show the formation of an intermixed FeAl transition layer of a few nanometers thick at the interface during deposition, which on annealing at 300 degrees C transforms to B2FeAl intermetallic phase. Magnetization decreases with increase in temperature and drops to minimum above 300 degrees C due to increase in anti-ferromagnetic interlayer coupling and formation of nonmagnetic FeAl phase at the interface. The Curie temperature (T-c) is found to be 288 degrees C and is much less than that of bulk bcc Fe.
Experiments at the bending magnet beamline at BESSY II (EDR beamline) profit from the excellent coherence properties of third generation synchrotron sources. Considering the exponentially decaying incident spectrum, and because no optical elements are installed except slits and vacuum windows, coherence experiments can be performed between 5 keV < E < 15 keV. First, the energy dependence of spatial coherence properties were determined measuring diffraction at single and double pinholes. Next, the coherent white radiation was used to probe the morphology of thin films in reflection geometry. The recorded intensity maps (reflectivity versus sample position) provide speckle patterns which reveal the locally varying sample morphology. Setting the incident angle, alpha(i), smaller or larger than the critical angle of total external reflection, alpha(c), one should be able to separate the surface height profile from the subsurface density modulation of a sample. The validity of this approach is verified at the example of reciprocal space maps taken from a polymer surface where we could reconstruct the lateral height profile from speckle data. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved