March 2026 ESRFnews
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Ilya Kupenko is another ERC grantee using a raft of
ESRF beamlines for planetary science – this time to try
to answer the longstanding question of the composition
of the Earth ’ s core . Conditions prevailing at this depth
could not be reliably probed before the EBS , he says ,
because the samples compressed in diamond anvil
cells require exceptionally fine beams that still have
enough X - ray photons to pass through . “ The ESRF -
EBS has a dramatically reduced X - ray source size and
increased brightness , enabling experiments that were
impractical before the upgrade , ” he adds . “ This is
especially important for ‘ photon - hungry ’ spectroscopic
techniques , where reducing the beam size by simple
slitting – blocking part of the beam – would excessively
reduce flux . ” Inelastic X - ray scattering at ID28 is one
example of such a technique .
The increasing use of multiple modalities – as well
as mapping and oversampling for high pressure
investigations means that many experimental groups
are potentially burdened with very large datasets
That coupled with the expertise required to interpret
them has contributed especially in some high stakes
areas such as superconductivity to a culture in which
data is withheld The ESRF is bucking that trend
with a data infrastructure that automatically archives
experiments captures rich metadata and allows
datasets to be shared and cited openly One example
of this transparency last year was a high pressure study
of the kagome superconductor LaRu Si in which the
authors not only mapped how superconductivity and
E S R F / S T E F C A N D É
charge - order evolve under pressure , but also made the
underlying ESRF diffraction dataset openly available
via a citable DOI Nat Commun 16 6149
Across subfields the ESRF is taking the stress out of
high pressure research and giving users the freedom
to ask new questions This is what we hoped for
when we worked with users to develop beamlines
and support facilities that could exploit the EBS
capabilities says Mohamed Mezouar the scientist
in charge of ID27 and the head of the ESRF s X ray
Diffraction and Scattering Group Our goal was to
make extreme experiments routine so that the user
can focus on the science rather than the obstacles
Ilya Kupenko , funded by an ERC Starting Grant , is tackling the long - standing
problem of which light elements are hidden in the Earth ’ s core . The ID14
scientist combines extreme - conditions X - ray methods across ESRF
beamlines to pin down core - like chemistry .
Jon Cartwright
Valerio Cerantola at the University of Milano - Bicocca , funded by an ERC
Consolidator Grant , is tracing sulphur chemistry from early planetary
accretion to today ’ s mantle . He uses complementary ESRF techniques to
follow how sulphur - bearing phases transform as conditions change .
E S R F / C H A N T A L A R G O U D
ID15B STRENGTHENS HIGH - PRESSURE TOOLKIT
Germany ’ s Federal Ministry of Research , Technology and Space has
approved a grant , EXTREMMAT , led by Maxim Bykov at Goethe University
Frankfurt , to help the ESRF refurbish the ID15B beamline . First , a new nano -
goniometer will allow highly stable sub - micrometre sample positioning ,
specially dedicated to multiphase samples , so that micron - scale grains
can be studied using single - crystal X - ray dif fraction under high pressure .
Second , a multi - layered mirror will f ilter out harmonics , so that dif fraction
can be recorded without higher - harmonic contributions . Finally , a new
monochromator will permit X - ray energies not just of 30 keV , but also of 35
and 57 keV , opening up studies with a larger coverage of reciprocal space .
The upgrades will come progressively , with the f inal monochromator due to be
installed in summer 2028 .
HIGH PRESSURE