Performance of the time-resolved ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering beamline with the Extremely Brilliant Source

The new technical features and enhanced performance of the ID02 beamline with the Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS) at the ESRF are described. The beamline enables static and kinetic investigations of a broad range of systems from angstrom to micrometre size scales and down to the sub-millisecond time range by combining different small-angle X-ray scattering techniques in a single instrument. In addition, a nearly coherent beam obtained in the high-resolution mode allows multispeckle X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy measurements down to the microsecond range over the ultra-small- and small-angle regions. While the scattering vector (of magnitude q) range covered is the same as before, 0.001 <= q <= 50 nm(-1) for an X-ray wavelength of 1 angstrom, the EBS permits relaxation of the collimation conditions, thereby obtaining a higher flux throughput and lower background. In particular, a coherent photon flux in excess of 10(12) photons s(-1) can be routinely obtained, allowing dynamic studies of relatively dilute samples. The enhanced beam properties are complemented by advanced pixel-array detectors and high-throughput data reduction pipelines. All these developments together open new opportunities for structural, dynamic and kinetic investigations of out-of-equilibrium soft matter and biophysical systems.

Automated summary

This article describes the new technical features and enhanced performance of the ID02 beamline with the Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS) at the ESRF. The beamline enables static and kinetic investigations of a broad range of systems in different size scales and time ranges. Additionally, it allows for multispeckle X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy measurements and relaxation of collimation conditions, resulting in higher flux throughput and lower background. The article highlights the importance of these developments in enabling structural, dynamic, and kinetic investigations of out-of-equilibrium soft matter and biophysical systems.