The new SoftiMAX STXM

The main branch at SoftiMAX provides an energy range of 275 eV – 2500 eV, and polarisation modes linear horizontal/vertical, inclined, and circular.

A new STXM system will go into commissioning in the Fall 2025 period. The end-station will initially be open for general users for the following methods only:

MethodDetectorsSample environment
STXM with a focal spot size of 30 nm and upwardsPMT (full range)Magnetic field (415 mT in-plane and out-of plane)*

Sample heater (Norcada), up to 1100°C
PtychographyTuscen Dhyana 95 (275 – 900 eV), direct detection; back-illuminated sCMOS, up to 24 fps; 2048 x 2048 pixels, 22.528 × 22.528 mm; 11 µm pixel size.

EIGER LGAD (500 – 2500 eV, 512×512, 75 μm pixel size)

Andor Zyla 5.5 (500 – 2500 eV), with FOP (3 µm channel diameter) and P43 scintillator (5 µm thickness); front-illuminated sCMOS, up to 100 fps; 2560 x 2160 pixels, 16.6 x 14.0 mm		Magnetic field (415 mT in-plane and out-of plane)*

Sample heater (Norcada), up to 1100°C

*The magnet system will restrict the energy range.

Please contact beamline staff to discuss the details of the experiment, in particular if sample environment is required.

The SoftiMAX-CXI open port

The second branch at SoftiMAX is offered as an open port for external user end-stations:

Energy range275 eV – 2200 eV
Beam size (focus)20 μm × 20 μm
Beam height (focus)1404.8 mm
Beam inclination+2 deg
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SoftiMAX-CXI open port area

The first SoftiMAX STXM (paused)

Photo of the SoftiMAX experiment station

The original SoftiMAX STXM end-station is temporarily retired. We hope to upgrade this one soon, so that STXM and Ptychography imaging techniques are available here too.

STXM mode

The STXM mode uses the PMT detector, and is limited in resolution by the spot size of the illumination. At 300 eV, the smallest spot size is about 30 nm, between 700 eV and 1600 eV, the smallest spot size is about 22 nm, and above 1600 eV the smallest spot size is about 60 nm. STXM can provide absorption contrast. The energy resolution is better than 50 meV in the commissioned energy range.

Short video of fungal hyphae
Fungal hyphae and Iron, STXM energy scan at the Fe-L edge (M. Pucetaite et al.)
Carbon C-1s edge spectra from SoftiMax STXM
Carbon C-1s edge spectra from SoftiMax STXM (left), colour coded composite derived by fitting the stack to reference spectra (A. Hitchcock et al.)
XMCD imaging on a out-of-plane magnetized FeGd multilayer.
XMCD imaging on a out-of-plane magnetized FeGd multilayer. Spectra measured with circular left and circular right X-rays, shown with difference (XMCD) spectrum and domain images for Iron Fe-L (left) and Gadolinium Gd-M edge (right). A. Hitchcock et al.

Ptychography mode

The Ptychography mode uses a pixel detector; Currently the Andor Zyla is available. The sample can be moved out of focus to adjust the illumination spot size and the overlap. The detector distance can also be varied. The data can be analyzed on the MAX IV computing cluster using the Ptypy-package. Ptychography can provide both absorption and phase contrast.

SoftiMAX_Ptycho_examples-scaled
Commissioning Ptychography image of an Au test pattern (phase contrast)

The following detectors are available:

Detector typeModel and specification
PhotodiodeOpto Diode Corp AXUV20HS1
PMTHamamatsu H3164-10, with P43 scintillator
2D detectorAndor Zyla 5.5, with FOP (3 µm channel diameter) and P43 scintillator (5 µm thickness); front-illuminated sCMOS, up to 100 fps; 2560 x 2160 pixels, 16.6 x 14.0 mm; The detector distance can be varied between 33 mm and about 150 mm.
2D detectorTuscen Dhyana 95, direct detection; back-illuminated sCMOS, up to 24 fps; 2048 x 2048 pixels, 22.528 × 22.528 mm; 11 µm pixel size. Under commissioning
SDDAmptek X123 Fast SDD,70 mm2; C2 window (Si3N4). Under commissioning