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    The 1-Megapixel pnCCD detector for the Small Quantum Systems Instrument at the European XFEL: system and operation aspects
    (Chester : IUCr, 2021) Kuster, Markus; Ahmed, Karim; Ballak, Kai Erik; Danilevski, Cyril; Ekmedžić, Marko; Fernandes, Bruno; Gessler, Patrick; Hartmann, Robert; Hauf, Steffen; Holl, Peter; Meyer, Michael; Montaño, Jacobo; Münnich, Astrid; Ovcharenko, Yevheniy; Rennhack, Nils; Rüter, Tonn; Rupp, Daniela; Schlosser, Dieter; Setoodehnia, Kiana; Schmitt, Rüdiger; Strüder, Lothar; Tanyag, Rico Mayro P.; Ulmer, Anatoli; Yousef, Hazem
    The X-ray free-electron lasers that became available during the last decade, like the European XFEL (EuXFEL), place high demands on their instrumentation. Especially at low photon energies below 1 keV, detectors with high sensitivity, and consequently low noise and high quantum efficiency, are required to enable facility users to fully exploit the scientific potential of the photon source. A 1-Megapixel pnCCD detector with a 1024 × 1024 pixel format has been installed and commissioned for imaging applications at the Nano-Sized Quantum System (NQS) station of the Small Quantum System (SQS) instrument at EuXFEL. The instrument is currently operating in the energy range between 0.5 and 3 keV and the NQS station is designed for investigations of the interaction of intense FEL pulses with clusters, nano-particles and small bio-molecules, by combining photo-ion and photo-electron spectroscopy with coherent diffraction imaging techniques. The core of the imaging detector is a pn-type charge coupled device (pnCCD) with a pixel pitch of 75 µm × 75 µm. Depending on the experimental scenario, the pnCCD enables imaging of single photons thanks to its very low electronic noise of 3 e− and high quantum efficiency. Here an overview on the EuXFEL pnCCD detector and the results from the commissioning and first user operation at the SQS experiment in June 2019 are presented. The detailed descriptions of the detector design and capabilities, its implementation at EuXFEL both mechanically and from the controls side as well as important data correction steps aim to provide useful background for users planning and analyzing experiments at EuXFEL and may serve as a benchmark for comparing and planning future endstations at other FELs.
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    A new concept for temporal gating of synchrotron X-ray pulses
    (Chester : IUCr, 2021) Schmidt, D.; Bauer, R.; Chung, S.; Novikov, D.; Sander, M.; Pudell, J.E.; Herzog, M.; Pfuetzenreuter, D.; Schwarzkopf, J.; Chernikov, R.; Gaal, P.
    A new concept for temporal gating of synchrotron X-ray pulses based on laser-induced thermal transient gratings is presented. First experimental tests of the concept yield a diffraction efficiency of 0.18%; however, the calculations indicate a theoretical efficiency and contrast of >30% and 10−5, respectively. The full efficiency of the pulse picker has not been reached yet due to a long-range thermal deformation of the sample after absorption of the excitation laser. This method can be implemented in a broad spectral range (100 eV to 20 keV) and is only minimally invasive to an existing setup.
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    Sample chamber for synchrotron based in-situ X-ray diffraction experiments under electric fields and temperatures between 100 K and 1250 K
    (Chester : IUCr, 2021) Nentwich, Melanie; Weigel, Tina; Richter, Carsten; Stöcker, Hartmut; Mehner, Erik; Jachalke, Sven; Novikov, Dmitri V.; Zschornak, Matthias; Meyer, Dirk C.
    Many scientific questions require X-ray experiments conducted at varying temperatures, sometimes combined with the application of electric fields. Here, a customized sample chamber developed for beamlines P23 and P24 of PETRA III at DESY to suit these demands is presented. The chamber body consists mainly of standard vacuum parts housing the heater/cooler assembly supplying a temperature range of 100 K to 1250 K and an xyz manipulator holding an electric contact needle for electric measurements at both high voltage and low current. The chamber is closed by an exchangeable hemispherical dome offering all degrees of freedom for single-crystal experiments within one hemisphere of solid angle. The currently available dome materials (PC, PS, PEEK polymers) differ in their absorption and scattering characteristics, with PEEK providing the best overall performance. The article further describes heating and cooling capabilities, electric characteristics, and plans for future upgrades of the chamber. Examples of applications are discussed.