Recently the research activities at the ID01 beamline have focused on the exploitation of both coherent and incoherent sub-micron X-ray beams for the investigation of the local properties of both extended materials (interfaces, compositional gradients, etc...) and  single nanostructures. In addition the development of full field diffraction microscopy has established a new technique for operando experiments and is available for users. A full description of the beamline can be found here in the beamline paper.

Nano-micro beams are obtained with Fresnel Zone Plates, KB mirrors or Be Compound Refractive Lenses in a X-ray energy range [7-15]keV, with spot sizes from 56 x 64nm - 300 x 300nm, 150nm x 200nm  and up to a few microns x a few microns respectively.

The sample is manoeuvered with a goniometer made up of a Symmetrie hexapod for course translations (10mm stroke in 3 axes) and piezo translation stages from PI with capacitive encoders, for fine translations allowing a precision of 2 nm (100,100,20 micron stroke in X,Y and Z).

Preserving the coherence of the X-ray beam after sub-micron focusing allows the exploitation of coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) for the model-free investigation of the 3D morphology and strain state of single nano-structures through the retrieval of the "lost" phase of the measured X-ray diffraction distribution in reciprocal space. CDI, Holography and Ptychography in Bragg geometry have been successfully carried out on isolated and epitaxial semiconductors nanostructures within collaborations with the J.-Kepler University of Linz - AU and Fresnel Institute in Marseille - FR, with the aim to create a 3D X-ray strain microscope for nanostructures.

Continuous development of sample environments aim to exploit submicron beam diffraction in diverse environments. The equipment available today at ID01 includes:

  • a light weight cryostat, cooled under liquid He flow, capable of reaching a base temperature of 2K, and compatible with the use of Scanning X-ray Diffraction Microscopy
  • a light weight furnace capable of obtaining 950oC, vacuum/ air/ gas compatibility
  • several small volume vacuum chambers for measurement in primary vacuum
  • nano-indentation can be performed through collaboration