SOLEIL X-Ray imaging Beamline

The Nanoscopium long beamline of Synchrotron Soleil will work in the 5-20 keV energy range. This multimodal beamline will offer advanced scanning-based X-ray imaging techniques with spatial resolution down to ≤30 nm. Two dedicated end-stations will exploit X-ray coherence to non-destructively produce two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) images with high analytical sensitivity by scanning X-ray spectro-microscopy techniques and ptychographic coherent scatter imaging. A combination of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) will provide information on the localization and speciation of elements.

Ptychography allows us to obtain images of even weakly-scattering samples, which are quantitatively related to the projected X-ray refractive index and therefore the electron density distribution within the samples. Combining X-ray computed tomography techniques with ptychography and XRF will allow us to produce 3D images with very high sensitivity to variations in electron density and elemental content. Fast-detection schemes will further permit the implementation of scanning microscopies based on differential phase contrast (DPC) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) contrast.

This will offer research possibilities via 2D/3D quantitative elemental, chemical, and structural analysis of non-crystalline, cryo-cooled samples.