Dr. Christian Brönnimann, CEO, DECTRIS Ltd., CH-5400 Baden, Switzerland
The PILATUS pixel detectors, large area modular two-dimensional hybrid pixel array detectors, have revolutionized protein crystallography and biological small- and wide-angle scattering by combining noise-free counter properties with highest data acquisition rates. These features enable optimized data acquisition modes and new experimental techniques.
The PILATUS 6M detector was developed at the Paul Scherrer Institut specifically for protein crystallography. DECTRIS has successfully commercialized the PILATUS technology. Currently eight 6M-systems are in operation at high performance beamlines worldwide. More than 10 PILATUS 1M and 2M detectors are implemented at synchrotron SAXS facilities.
The properties of the PILATUS pixel detectors allow new experimental techniques and significant increases of beamline throughput. Optimal data collection strategies for protein crystallography will be discussed in terms of oscillation angle, data redundancy and beam focusing properties as well as dose rate effects in room temperature data collection. The possibility to automate the whole data acquisition sequence from sample alignment to data reduction will be outlined. Similarly, diffraction based alignment and grid scanning is ideally supported by the high framing rate (Aishima et al., 2010).
Besides static and time-resolved biological SAXS, these detectors enable previously impossible data acquisition protocols such as scanning-SAXS and X-ray ptychography (Bunk et al, 2009). Time resolved SAXS/WAXS experiments are enabled by the gating possibility of the detectors.
The MYTHEN detector is a one-dimensional strip detector (Bergamaschi et al., 2010). A module consists of 1280 strips with a pitch of 50 µm and a width of 8 mm. Based on single photon counting technology as well, this detector is widely used for a number of techniques as powder diffraction, surface diffraction and reflectometry.
DECTRIS is further developing the detector technology in various areas: In order to increase the usable energy range of the detectors, they are offered with thicker Si-sensors. The large area detectors 1M, 2M and 6M are now available with a factor of 2 higher frame rates. We are investigating the influence of synchrotron bunch structure effects on count rate corrections. A new concept to increase the count rate capability is presented. An important development concerns pixel detectors with smaller pixels and higher frame-rates. Most recent results from the EIGER detector, currently developed at PSI and to be commercialized by DECTRIS, will be shown.
References: Aishima, J., Owen, R.L., Axford, D., Shephard, E., Winter, G., Levik, K., Gibbons, P., Ashton, A., Evans, G. Acta Cryst., 2010, D66, 1032-1035
O Bunk et al 2009 New J. Phys. 11 123016 doi: 10.1088/1367-2630/11/12/123016
Bergamaschi, A., Cervellino, A., Dinapoli, R., Gozzo, F., Henrich, B., Johnson, I., Kraft, P., Mozzanica, A., Schmitt B. Shi, X., J. Synchrotron Rad. (2010). 17, 653–668
