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Trey
Guest
,
Patrik
Vagovic
,
Luigi
Adriano
,
Johan
Bielecki
,
Sarlota
Birnsteinova
,
Rita
Graceffa
,
Jayanath
Koliyadu
,
Kaye
Morgan
,
Hiiro
Moriyama
,
Daniel
Mosko
,
Grant
Van Riessen
,
Kristian
Sabol
,
Tokushi
Sato
,
Peter
Szeles
,
Zane
Taylor
,
Jozef
Ulicny
,
Richard
Bean
,
Adrian P.
Mancuso
,
Brian
Abbey
Open Access
Abstract: Wavefront characterization is essential for diagnosing, interpreting and mitigating performance limitations at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). However, the dramatic increase in thermal load and data throughput at high repetition rates makes established wavefront characterization methods difficult to implement effectively. Here, we demonstrate that X-ray speckle arising from beamline optics can enable fast, robust and sensor-free wavefront metrology at next-generation XFEL facilities. Combining this approach with a statistical formulation of X-ray speckle tracking, we quantify local wavefront fluctuations within pulse trains at the European XFEL. We find that shot-to-shot wavefront fluctuations are predominantly planar phase tilts with distinct statistical signatures across intra- and inter-train timescales. The dominant source of wavefront error is periodic at frequencies consistent with known mechanical oscillation modes of the photon transport optics, while intra-train fluctuations correlate with instabilities in the electron bunch trajectory. Our results establish a practical framework for high-repetition-rate wavefront characterization and diagnostics at next-generation XFELs.
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Sep 2026
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B16-Test Beamline
Detectors
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Simon
Knowles
,
Darren
Ballard
,
Dominic
Banks
,
Stephen
Bell
,
Manuele
Bettelli
,
Ivan
Church
,
Alex
Dainty
,
Adam
Davis
,
Vishal
Dhamgaye
,
Oliver
Fox
,
Marcus
French
,
Thomas
Gardiner
,
Navid
Ghorbanian
,
Josh
Harris
,
Matt
Hart
,
Aswathi
Koorikkat
,
Matt
Larkin
,
John
Lipp
,
John
Matheson
,
Tim
Nicholls
,
Joseph
Nobes
,
Mark
Prydderch
,
Kawal
Sawhney
,
Matthew C.
Veale
,
Matthew D.
Wilson
,
Silvia
Zanettini
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[37914]
Open Access
Abstract: The development of fourth-generation synchrotrons, including the Diamond-II upgrade, promises 10–100× flux increases, reaching up to 1012 photons s−1 mm−2 at the detector, across a broad range of energies from 20 to 100 keV. To exploit fully these impressive photon fluxes and high X-ray energies, readout chips must achieve high frame rates and dynamic ranges, while the use of high-Z sensor materials is essential. To address these challenges, the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council has developed DynamiX, a test structure for a novel two-stage charge cancellation circuit on a 65 nm CMOS process with a dynamic range from single photon(s) per pixel per frame to >9000 photons per pixel per frame (1011–1012 photons s−1 mm−2) at 20 keV photon energy. The application-specific integrated circuit has 16 ×16 pixels on 110 µm pitch and is hybridized with 2 mm thick Redlen high-flux cadmium zinc telluride (HF-CdZnTe). Data are read out at 534000 frames per second over a 14 Gbps serialiser and frames are assembled and saved with a custom data acquisition system. Measurements were made on the Diamond Light Source (DLS) B16 Test Beamline using monochromatic X-ray beams of different sizes and energies to evaluate the detector performance. A sub-pixel beam of size ∼60 µm × ∼15 µm was used to probe pixels to measure single photons with a noise performance of σ = 5.7 ± 0.1 keV. These single photons are used to calibrate the test pulse and pixel cancellation packet sizes. The linearity of the detector response under increasing flux was measured from <1 photon per pixel per frame to ∼109 photons s−1 mm−2 at 20 keV with an r.m.s. linearity of 6.2%. A polychromatic X-ray set was used to reach higher fluxes of ∼3 × 1010 photons s−1 mm−2 (20 keV equivalent), yielding an r.m.s. linearity of 3.2%. Finally, the full sensor area was used to image a rotating slitted disc at 534000 frames per second.
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Sep 2026
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I14-Hard X-ray Nanoprobe
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[38366]
Open Access
Abstract: Spectro-microscopy is an experimental technique which can be used to observe spatial variations in chemical state and changes in chemical state over time or under experimental conditions. As a result it has broad applications across areas such as energy materials, catalysis, environmental science and biological samples. However, the technique is often limited by factors such as long acquisition times and radiation damage. We present two measurement strategies that allow for significantly shorter experiment times and total doses applied. The strategies are based on taking only a small subset of all the measurements (e.g. sparse acquisition or subsampling), and then computationally reconstructing all unobserved measurements using mathematical techniques. The methods are data-driven, using spectral and spatial importance subsampling distributions to identify important measurements. As a result, taking as little as 4–6% of the measurements is sufficient to capture the same information as in a conventional scan.
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Sep 2026
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I16-Materials and Magnetism
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Aly H.
Abdeldaim
,
Rebecca
Scatena
,
James
Hawkins
,
Gareth
Nisbet
,
Daniel G.
Porter
,
Graeme
Barlow
,
Andy
Marshall
,
Brian
Nutter
,
Guillaume
Beutier
,
Stephen P.
Collins
,
Alessandro
Bombardi
Open Access
Abstract: Here, we review the capabilities of beamline I16 at Diamond Light Source after nearly 20 years of operation and continuous development. I16 is an X-ray scattering beamline operating in the 2.46–16 keV energy range with energy scans with a resolution of 1 meV. The beamline is equipped with a six-circle kappa diffractometer, offering flexible experimental geometries and support for a variety of ancillary equipment. Available equipment includes cryostats and cryofurnaces that span temperatures from 4.2 K to 700 K, which can be combined with applied electric fields, permanent magnets up to 1 T, and uniaxial strain cells. A range of detectors is mounted on the diffractometer arm, including a photon-counting area detector and an avalanche photodiode, both compatible with crystal analyzers for polarization analysis. Diamond single-crystal phase retarders provide full control of the incident X-ray polarization. These capabilities establish I16 as a state-of-the-art instrument for resonant and non-resonant X-ray scattering, multi Bragg coherent diffraction imaging, and grazing-incidence small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. Together, they allow for studies of complex electronic, magnetic and structural phenomena in single crystals and thin films. We also outline the software infrastructure supporting experiment planning, data acquisition and rapid on-the-fly data analysis, and discuss ongoing developments and the anticipated benefits of the upgrade to a fourth-generation source.
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Sep 2026
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I23-Long wavelength MX
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Open Access
Abstract: Preventing collisions during automated sample exchange is critical for synchrotron beamlines, particularly for complex cryogenic in-vacuum endstations where recovery from hardware damage may take days. GoniOwl, a compact convolutional neural network (CNN) model, classifies sample-pin presence on the goniometer from a live camera feed on the long-wavelength macromolecular crystallography beamline I23 at Diamond Light Source. Trained on over 8700 manually verified images spanning two years of routine operation and augmented for robustness to illumination changes, camera shifts and occlusions, the model achieves >99% accuracy with millisecond-level inference. A confidence-gating mechanism routes uncertain predictions to a fail-safe path requiring operator confirmation, ensuring suitability for machine-protection control. Integrated via Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) process variables, GoniOwl runs in real time within the automated sample-change sequence. In shadow-mode deployment, the CNN matched or exceeded both the legacy histogram method and operator confirmations, which each achieved 96% accuracy. A closed-loop disagreement-audit workflow automatically collects divergent cases for targeted retraining and verification. The approach is readily transferable to other beamline environments where camera-based vision systems can provide an additional software machine protection layer.
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Sep 2026
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Terence
Tan
,
Oliver J.
Clark
,
Matthew J.
Derry
,
Renaud
Duyme
,
Guilherme Abreu
Faria
,
Robert
Farla
,
Ralf
Flaig
,
Yogal Prasad
Ghimirey
,
Anushka
Ghosh
,
Miguel A.
Gomez-Gonzalez
,
Ellen L.
Heeley
,
Anna
Herlihy
,
Annette
Kleppe
,
Paul
Millar
,
Melanie
Nentwich
,
Josh
Pickston
,
Nick
Terrill
,
Armin
Wagner
,
Andrew C.
Walters
,
Matthew
Watson
,
Philippe
Rocca-Serra
,
Susanna-Assunta
Sansone
,
Stephen P.
Collins
Open Access
Abstract: Experiment proposals at synchrotron facilities serve as the primary gateway for instrument access. They currently lack the standardized and granular topic metadata necessary for tasks such as classification and review, and, broadly speaking, reuse. This paper defines and tests the feasibility of a real-time topic classification service for experiment proposals using an open-source machine-learning model and domain experts for the evaluation phase. We applied the OpenAlex topic classification model to 5384 experiment proposals and selected 209 of them to each be independently evaluated by three domain experts to assess the performance and utility of the model. Analysis of the evaluations reveals a general consensus among the reviewers regarding the model's predictions, with a Krippendorff's alpha of 0.572. We also find that 74.2% of the proposals had at least one topic that was unanimously deemed relevant, which suggests that the model performs well enough to be used in a live setting with real-time verification. However, we do not recommend using it in automated environments without human oversight, given the proposal-based precision score of 56.0%. By aligning the data infrastructure of photon and neutron facilities with the OpenAlex ecosystem, we also lay the groundwork for the eventual inclusion of proposals and experiment reports into OpenAlex, which is necessary for a complete record of a research activity.
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Sep 2026
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I20-Scanning-X-ray spectroscopy (XAS/XES)
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Open Access
Abstract: We report the technical design, implementation and operation of a newly developed X-ray emission spectrometer on the I20 beamline at Diamond Light Source. The spectrometer consists of 14 crystal analysers arranged in an up–down configuration, allowing for operation in one- or two-colour acquisition modes. Since beginning operations in 2023, the spectrometer has substantially enhanced the capability of the beamline to perform X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and has demonstrated high reliability with minimal operational issues during user experiments. The latter achievement is particularly significant given the complexity of the instrument, and the difficulty of maintaining the Rowland condition when scanning the energy. We show that the spectrometer can effectively measure spectra in two-colour mode and is capable of detecting weak valence-to-core emission features with a significantly improved signal-to-background ratio. We also present data taken using a newly developed quick-scanning XES acquisition mode, which enables data collection in seconds rather than minutes. This mode opens up possibilities for time-resolved studies and investigating radiation-sensitive materials.
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May 2026
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I24-Microfocus Macromolecular Crystallography
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Open Access
Abstract: Serial synchrotron crystallography (SSX) enables structure determination from microcrystals under near-physiological, room-temperature conditions but is limited in part due to the inevitable onset of radiation damage. The ability to reduce the absorbed dose while retaining, or even improving, data quality is an attractive means of mitigating this limitation. Advances in detector technology have made the use of high-energy X-rays a routine approach in MX, improving diffraction efficiency and enhancing overall data quality. Here, we systematically evaluate low-dose SSX data collected at five different X-ray energies from 12.4 to 25 keV using a CdTe Eiger2 detector while maintaining a constant dose. Higher photon energies increased the mean diffracted intensity and signal-to-noise ratio per unit dose, and facilitated higher-resolution structure determination, even with limited crystal numbers. These findings highlight the advantages of high-energy X-rays and provide practical guidance for optimizing SSX experiments in probing protein dynamics.
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Mar 2026
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DIAD-Dual Imaging and Diffraction Beamline
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[39247]
Open Access
Abstract: This work presents the design and development of a 3D printed flow cell tailored for X-ray computed microtomography of liquid–solid systems. The flow cell is manufactured using stereolithographic printing and utilizes a novel pillarless pull-through geometry. The use of the flow cell developed for K-11 DIAD (Dual Imaging and Diffraction beamline, Diamond Light Source, UK) is demonstrated with the in situ flow and selective recovery of an Sn precipitate from solution using an organic ligand. The 3D designs and components are made freely available with this publication.
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Mar 2026
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I24-Microfocus Macromolecular Crystallography
Detectors
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John
Matheson
,
Danny
Axford
,
Anna
Bergamaschi
,
Maria
Carulla
,
Nicholas
Devenish
,
Noemi
Frisina
,
Viktoria
Hinger
,
Vadym
Kedych
,
Christopher
Lane
,
Aldo
Mozzanica
,
Eva
Gimenez-Navarro
,
James
O'Hea
,
Dominic
Oram
,
Robin L.
Owen
,
David
Perl
,
Adam
Prescott
,
Bernd
Schmitt
,
Shane
Scully
,
Adam
Taylor
,
Gary
Yendell
,
Graeme
Winter
Open Access
Abstract: A Jungfrau-1M detector has undergone testing at Diamond Light Source. The Jungfrau series of detectors from PSI use integration and adaptive gain, to offer very high frame rate and dynamic range, suitable for high-flux and time-resolved measurements. They are becoming more widely used, to take advantage of increasing light source brightness. We report on our experiences in testing the performance of a Jungfrau-1M without illumination, with a laboratory X-ray tube and on a microfocus beamline. The Jungfrau-1M was found to be able to resolve single photons in the laboratory and on the beamline. It was confirmed that range switching from high to intermediate gain is associated with a discontinuity in the detector response. Two methods of dark frame subtraction were compared for their effect on minimizing this discontinuity. The Jungfrau-1M was found to be very effective for recording macromolecular crystallography diffraction patterns, with no apparent detriment from the discontinuity. The Diamond machine will be upgraded in 2028–9 and will operate at significantly higher flux than at present, necessitating increased use of integrating detectors, such as Jungfrau, in the future.
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Mar 2026
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