Picosecond pump-probe X-ray scattering at the Elettra SAXS beamline

J Synchrotron Radiat. 2020 Jan 1;27(Pt 1):51-59. doi: 10.1107/S1600577519015728. Epub 2020 Jan 1.

Abstract

A new setup for picosecond pump-probe X-ray scattering at the Austrian SAXS beamline at Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste is presented. A high-power/high-repetion-rate laser has been installed on-site, delivering UV/VIS/IR femtosecond-pulses in-sync with the storage ring. Data acquisition is achieved by gating a multi-panel detector, capable of discriminating the single X-ray pulse in the dark-gap of the Elettra hybrid filling mode. Specific aspects of laser- and detection-synchronization, on-line beam steering as well protocols for spatial and temporal overlap of laser and X-ray beam are also described. The capabilities of the setup are demonstrated by studying transient heat-transfer in an In/Al/GaAs superlattice structure and results are confirmed by theoretical calculations.

Keywords: pump–probe experiments; transient X-ray scattering.