X-ray pulses on demand from Electron Storage Rings
Some contemporary Synchroton Radiation methods need pulsed x-rays with a specific time structure. HZB-users at BESSY II can use them now on demand.
© Autobahn, K. Holldack/HZB
In regular operation the non-excited bunches (grey) emit undulator radiation on-axis. A detour in the electron beam (bump) makes that this regular radiation is emitted off-axis and dumped into an aperture. Only the part of the radiation from a quasi-resonantly excited bunch (blue) can enter the beamline mimicking a turn-by-turn single bunch emission. © Ela Strickert/HZB
HZB physicists recently devised a new method to pick single x-ray pulses out of the pulse trains usually emitted from synchrotron radiation facilities. The technique is very useful to support studies of electronic properties of quantum materials and superconductors and paves the way for future synchrotron facilities with variable pulse lengths.
Scientists from HZB’s Institute for Methods and Instrumentation in Synchrotron Radiation Research and the Accelerator Department have now jointly solved the gordic knot as they published in the renowned journal Nature Communications. Their novel method is capable of picking single pulses out of a conventional pulse train as usually emitted from Synchrotron facilities. They managed to apply this for the first time to time-of-flight electron spectroscopy based on modern instruments as developed within a joint Lab with Uppsala University, Sweden.
The pulse picking technique is based on a quasi resonant magnetic excitation of transverse oscillations in one specific relativistic electron bunch that – like all others – generates a radiation cone within an undulator. The selective excitation leads to an enlargement of the radiation cone. Employing a detour (“bump”) in the electron beam path, the regular radiation and the radiation from the excited electrons can be easily separated and only pulses from the latter arrive – once per revolution - at the experiment. Thus, the arrival time of the pulses is now perfectly accommodated for modern high resolution time-of-flight spectrometers.
Users will be able to examine band structures with higher precision
“The development of the Pulse Picking by Resonant Excitation (PPRE) was science driven by our user community working with single bunch techniques. They demand more beamtime to improve studies on e.g. graphene, topological insulators and other “hot topics” in material science like the current debates about high Tc-Superconductors, magnetic ordering phenomena and catalytic surface effects for energy storage. Moreover, with pulse picking techniques at hand, we are now well prepared for our future light source with variable pulse lengths: BESSY-VSR, where users will appreciate pulse selection on demand to readily switch from high brightness to ultrashort pulses according to their individual needs” says Karsten Holldack, corresponding author of the paper.
First tests successful
The researchers have proven the workability of their method with ARTOF-time-of-flight spectrometers at different undulators and beamlines as well as in BESSY II’s regular user mode. “Here we could certainly benefit from long year experiences with emittance manipulation”, says Dr. P. Kuske acting as head of the accelerator part of the team. Thanks to accelerator developments in the past, we are capable of even picking ultrashort pulses out of the bunch trains in low-alpha operation, a special operation mode of BESSY II. At last, the users can, already right now, individually switch - within minutes – between high static flux and the single pulse without touching any settings at their instruments and the sample.
The work has now been published in Nature Communications: Single Bunch X-ray Pulses on Demand from a Multibunch Synchrotron Radiation Source, K. Holldack et al. Doi: 10.1038/ncomms5010
- The future of corals – what X-rays can tell usThis summer, it was all over the media. Driven by the climate crisis, the oceans have now also passed a critical point, the absorption of CO2 is making the oceans increasingly acidic. The shells of certain sea snails are already showing the first signs of damage. But also the skeleton structures of coral reefs are deteriorating in more acidic conditions. This is especially concerning given that corals are already suffering from marine heatwaves and pollution, which are leading to bleaching and finally to the death of entire reefs worldwide. But how exactly does ocean acidification affect reef structures?
Prof. Dr. Tali Mass, a marine biologist from the University of Haifa, Israel, is an expert on stony corals. Together with Prof. Dr. Paul Zaslansky, X-ray imaging expert from Charité Berlin, she investigated at BESSY II the skeleton formation in baby corals, raised under different pH conditions. Antonia Rötger spoke online with the two experts about the results of their recent study and the future of coral reefs.
- Energy of charge carrier pairs in cuprate compoundsHigh-temperature superconductivity is still not fully understood. Now, an international research team at BESSY II has measured the energy of charge carrier pairs in undoped La₂CuO₄. Their findings revealed that the interaction energies within the potentially superconducting copper oxide layers are significantly lower than those in the insulating lanthanum oxide layers. These results contribute to a better understanding of high-temperature superconductivity and could also be relevant for research into other functional materials.
- Electrocatalysis with dual functionality – an overviewHybrid electrocatalysts can produce green hydrogen, for example, and valuable organic compounds simultaneously. This promises economically viable applications. However, the complex catalytic reactions involved in producing organic compounds are not yet fully understood. Modern X-ray methods at synchrotron sources such as BESSY II, enable catalyst materials and the reactions occurring on their surfaces to be analysed in real time, in situ and under real operating conditions. This provides insights that can be used for targeted optimisation. A team has now published an overview of the current state of knowledge in Nature Reviews Chemistry.