Materials Sciences

BL17-2 is a high-brightness, in-vacuum undulator (IVU) hard x-ray beamline (~ 5-18keV) optimized for materials scattering applications.

Beamline 15-2 is a state-of-the-art undulator experimental station specializing in advanced hard x-ray spectroscopy. The end station features cutting-edge instrumentation, including a 7-crystal Johann spectrometer and an 8-crystal von Hamos instrument for sub-core hole lifetime resolution x-ray emission spectroscopy. It also houses high-throughput and high-energy-resolution x-ray Raman spectrometers with resolutions of 0.3 eV, optimized for both low-q (40-crystal) and high-q (30-crystal) scattering geometries.

Beam line 14-3a, located on the downstream table in the BL14-3 hutch, is a bending magnet side station dedicated to x-ray imaging and micro x-ray absorption spectroscopy of biological, biomedical, materials, and geological samples.  Most often used for data collection at the S K edge, BL14-3 is the only SSRL beam line capable of XAS at the P K edge. During imaging mode, a SIGRAY axially symmetric mirror system is used to achieve microfocus with a beam size of ~ 5 x 5 microns. BL14-3b is equipped with a 7-element Vortex silicon drift detector and ionization chambers for imaging.

Beam line 14-3a, located on the upstream table of the hutch of the BL14-3 bending magnet side station, is dedicated to bulk x-ray absorption spectroscopy of biological, materials, and geological samples in the tender x-ray photon energy range 2.1-5.0 keV. BL14-3 is the only beam line at SSRL capable of obtaining spectroscopy data at the phosphorous K edge (2.15 keV). In this configuration the beam is partially unfocused over a size of 1 mm x 6 mm to allow for high energy-resolution measurements on homogenous samples.

Beamline 13-3, is dedicated to advancing research in quantum materials and diverse areas of materials science through resonant soft x-ray scattering (RSXS) and spectroscopy. Equipped with a spherical grating monochromator (SGM) and an elliptical polarizing undulator (EPU), the beamline provides full polarization control, including linear (vertical and horizontal) and circular (left and right) modes. Operating within a photon energy range of 250 eV to 1800 eV, it accesses key absorption edges such as the C, O, F, and Al K-edges, 3d transition metal L-edges, and 4f rare-earth M-edges.

BL13-2 is an elliptically polarizing undulator (EPU) beamline dedicated for high energy resolution soft x-ray core-level spectroscopy. Its endstation features a versatile chamber capable of characterizing numerous samples simultaneously. It is equipped to measure XAS in various modes including Total Electron Yield (TEY), Partial Electron Yield (PEY), Total Fluorescence Yield (TFY), and Partial Fluorescence Yield (PFY).

Beam line 11-3 is a fixed energy (E = 12.7 keV, λ = 0.9763 Å) wiggler side station dedicated to wide-angle X-ray scattering techniques (WAXS). The beam line specializes in grazing-incidence geometry measurements, but transmission geometry measurements are also available upon request. The high flux of the instrument paired with a Rayonix MX225 CCD area detector enables rapid data acquisition across variable q-ranges for in-situ/operando X-ray scattering measurements.

Beam line currently closed for upgrade.

Beam line 8-2 can be used to probe a wide range of core levels using photoemission and x-ray absorption spectroscopies. It is equipped with a general-purpose end-station offering a high throughput setup for soft x-ray spectroscopy measurement. BL8-2 has been optimized for seamless sample positioning and the ability to measure across many different energies, consecutively, rendering it particularly useful for characterizing large numbers of samples with multiple elements such as energy storage materials or catalysts.

Beam line 7-2 is a wiggler end station dedicated for x-ray absorption spectroscopy large scale rapid imaging and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES, EXAFS) of biological, material science, and geological samples. A series of polycapillaries and pinholes can provide beam sizes from mm to ~ 35 x 35 microns. The energy range of the beam line optics covers 4.9-16 keV, with detection of fluorescent x-rays as low as Si. BL7-2 is equipped with a 7 element Vortex silicon drift detector and ionization chambers.