European XFEL
Femtosecond X-ray Experiments (FXE)

 

The FXE instrument will enable ultrafast pump–probe experiments on ultrafast timescales—below 100 femtoseconds—for a broad scientific user community.

The instrument comprises two independent secondary X-ray emission spectrometers next to a 1-Mpx detector for scattering studies. Its main research is devoted to dynamic studies of chemical and biochemical reactions in liquids next to different solid-state applications. With a powerful laser as pump source, it will permit studies with femtosecond time resolution exploiting different observables via a suite of hard X-ray tools (which may be further expanded over time):

  • X-ray diffraction (XRD)
  • X-ray diffuse scattering (XDS), or wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS)
  • X-ray emission spectroscopies (XES): non-resonant, or resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS)
  • X-ray absorption spectroscopies: X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), or extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS)

The FXE scientific instrument will serve a broad scientific community and will embrace several fields of ultrafast X-ray science and their applications. State-of-the-art femtosecond instrumentation and techniques, both for X-rays and optical lasers, will deliver new information about geometric and electronic structures serving applications in many fields, and particular in the areas of

  • Chemical dynamics
  • Photovoltaic applications
  • Photosynthesis
  • Catalytic processes
  • Material physics

Operation of the FXE instrument is planned to start in 2017. A more detailed description of the science case of FXE can be found in the FXE TDR and CDR.

The main specifications and beam parameters of FXE are summarized in table 1 below. Further technical details about the available equipment at FXE is available here and in the TDR and CDR or by contacting the FXE group.

 

 

 

Detectors

APD (0D, full rep. rate with MHz DAQ)

Passive or Active (Electronics)
Active

Detection

Detected Particle
Photon

Gotthard (1D, 1280 px, 50 µm pixel pitch, 0.9 MHz)

Passive or Active (Electronics)
Active

Detection

Detected Particle
Photon
contacts
Christopher Milne
Techniques
Absorption
  • EXAFS
  • Time-resolved studies
Diffraction
  • Crystallography
  • Crystallography (biological macromolecules)
  • Time-resolved studies
Emission or Reflection
  • Time-resolved studies
Scattering
  • Inelastic scattering
  • Small angle scattering
  • Time-resolved scattering
  • Wide angle scattering
Disciplines
Life Sciences & Biotech
  • Molecular and cellular biology
Material Sciences
  • Other - Material Sciences
Physics
  • Atomic & molecular physics
control/Data analysis
Control Software Type
  • n/a
Data Output Type
  • n/a
Data Output Format
  • n/a