The hard X-ray nanoprobe of Max IV – NanoMAX – is designed to take full advantage of MAX IV’s exceptionally low emittance and the resulting coherence properties of the X-ray beam. The beamline is a powerful X-ray microscope. It focuses the coherent X-ray beam to an a tiny (below 100 nm) and extremely intense and spot. By raster-scanning the sample through the tiny beam spot the interaction of the X-rays with the sample can be measured spot by spot to make images of the sample pixel by pixel. Utilizing the ability of the coherent beam to create interference fringes with itself, coherent imaging methods can be used to obtain spatial information (resolution) beyond the beam size.
The NanoMAX beamline features two endstations that both are X-ray microscopes in themselves and complement each other in their capabilities. The imaging endstation is housed in the upstream experimental hutch 1 (EH1). The diffraction endstation is located at the downstream experimental hutch 2 (EH2). Do lot let yourself be confused by the names “imaging” and “diffraction”. Both endstations allow for imaging and diffraction in some way. Methods offered at NanoMAX are:
- Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy (STXM)
- X-ray Fluorescence mapping (XRF mapping)
- Small / Wide Angle X-ray Scattering mapping (SAXS/WAXS mapping)
- Coherent Diffraction Imaging in forward and Bragg direction (Bragg-/CDI)
- scanning coherent diffraction imaging, called ptychogaphy in forward and Bragg direction
- X-ray inline holography
All methods are offered in 2D, but can be extended to 3D by adding a sample rotation or sample tilt.
Find listed below the most important design differences and resulting differences in usage for the two endstations.
Imaging endstation (EH1)
Diffraction endstation (EH2)
- full in vacuum operation
- more restricted: need for specific sample holders / no special sample environments
- fixed sets of detectors
- slower sample change through load lock
- more strongly curved KB mirrors
- slightly smaller focus
- highest usable photon energy 15 keV
- sample area is kept in air
- more versatile: plenty of room for various sample environments
- large variety of detectors and possibilities for placement
- quick manual sample change
- less strongly curved KB mirrors
- slight larger focus
- highest usable photon energy 28 keV
As a rule of thumb, the diffraction endstation (EH2) should be your default endstation to consider for your experiment, as it can offer every method provided in the imaging endstation as well. Reasons to have an experiment at the more restrictive imaging endstation (EH1) could be:
- The need to see low energy X-ray fluorescence emission lines which would be strongly absorbed in air, or would overlap with the always present argon peak when performing XRF measurements in air.
- The sample can not be kept / measured in air, as it would damage or alter the sample such that the obtained results are not meaningful.
- The need for cryo cooling of the sample to avoid / slow X-ray beam induced damage to the sample during the measurement. (Cryo cooling is foreseen, but not yet offered at the imaging endstation EH1)
- Aiming at the highest possible resolutions requiring a smaller beam and/or cleanest signals, meaning no windows and no air between the sample and the detector(s).
Beamline documents
In 2021 the last review of the NanoMAX beamline was performed. The corresponding NanoMAX Review Report (download PDF) can be downloaded when clicking on the link. More recent publications about and from the beamlines can be found here.
