ID23-2: an automated and high-performance microfocus beamline for macromolecular crystallography at the ESRF. Corrigendum.

A revised version of Table 2 of Nanao et al. [J. Synchrotron Rad. (2022). 29, 581-590] is provided.

ID23-2: an automated and high-performance microfocus beamline for macromolecular crystallography at the ESRF.

ID23-2 is a fixed-energy (14.2 keV) microfocus beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) dedicated to macromolecular crystallography. The optics and sample environment have recently been redesigned and rebuilt to take full advantage of the upgrade of the ESRF to the fourth generation Extremely Brilliant Source (ESRF-EBS). The upgraded beamline now makes use of two sets of compound refractive lenses and multilayer mirrors to obtain a highly intense (>1013 photons s-1) focused microbeam (minimum size 1.5 µm × 3 µm full width at half-maximum). The sample environment now includes a FLEX-HCD sample changer/storage system, as well as a state-of-the-art MD3Up high-precision multi-axis diffractometer. Automatic data reduction and analysis are also provided for more advanced protocols such as synchrotron serial crystallographic experiments.

A hierarchical approach for modeling X-ray beamlines: application to a coherent beamline.

Different approaches to simulate a modern X-ray beamline are considered. Several methodologies with increasing complexity are applied to discuss the relevant parameters that quantify the beamline performance. Parameters such as flux, dimensions and intensity distribution of the focused beam, and coherence properties are obtained from simple analytical calculations to sophisticated computer simulations using ray-tracing and wave optics techniques. A latest-generation X-ray nanofocusing beamline for coherent applications (ID16A at the ESRF) has been chosen to study in detail the issues related to highly demagnifying synchrotron sources and exploiting the beam coherence. The performance of the beamline is studied for two storage rings: the old ESRF-1 (emittance 4000 pm) and the new ESRF-EBS (emittance 150 pm). In addition to traditional results in terms of flux and beam sizes, an innovative study on the partial coherence properties based on the propagation of coherent modes is presented. The different algorithms and methodologies are implemented in the software suite OASYS. These are discussed with emphasis placed upon the their benefits and limitations of each.

ID30B - a versatile beamline for macromolecular crystallography experiments at the ESRF.

ID30B is an undulator-based high-intensity, energy-tuneable (6.0-20 keV) and variable-focus (20-200 µm in diameter) macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamline at the ESRF. It was the last of the ESRF Structural Biology Group's beamlines to be constructed and commissioned as part of the ESRF's Phase I Upgrade Program and has been in user operation since June 2015. Both a modified microdiffractometer (MD2S) incorporating an in situ plate screening capability and a new flexible sample changer (the FlexHCD) were specifically developed for ID30B. Here, the authors provide the current beamline characteristics and detail how different types of MX experiments can be performed on ID30B (http://www.esrf.eu/id30b).

MASSIF-1: a beamline dedicated to the fully automatic characterization and data collection from crystals of biological macromolecules.

MASSIF-1 (ID30A-1) is an ESRF undulator beamline operating at a fixed wavelength of 0.969 Å (12.8 keV) that is dedicated to the completely automatic characterization of and data collection from crystals of biological macromolecules. The first of the ESRF Upgrade MASSIF beamlines to be commissioned, it has been open since September 2014, providing a unique automated data collection service to academic and industrial users. Here, the beamline characteristics and details of the new service are outlined.

Upgraded ESRF BM29 beamline for SAXS on macromolecules in solution.

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements of proteins in solution are becoming increasingly popular with biochemists and structural biologists owing to the presence of dedicated high-throughput beamlines at synchrotron sources. As part of the ESRF Upgrade program a dedicated instrument for performing SAXS from biological macromolecules in solution (BioSAXS) has been installed at the renovated BM29 location. The optics hutch has been equipped with new optical components of which the two principal elements are a fixed-exit double multilayer monochromator and a 1.1 m-long toroidal mirror. These new dedicated optics give improved beam characteristics (compared with the previous set-up on ID14-3) regarding the energy tunability, flux and focusing at the detector plane leading to reduced parasitic scattering and an extended s-range. User experiments on the beamline have been successfully carried out since June 2012. A description of the new BioSAXS beamline and the set-up characteristics are presented together with examples of obtained data.

High-efficiency Fresnel zone plates for hard X-rays by 100 keV e-beam lithography and electroplating.

The fabrication and characterization of Fresnel zone plates (FZPs) for hard X-ray microscopy applications are reported. High-quality 500 nm- and 1 µm-thick Au FZPs with outermost zone widths down to 50 nm and 70 nm, respectively, and with diameters up to 600 µm were fabricated. The diffraction efficiencies of the fabricated FZPs were measured for a wide range of X-ray energies (2.8-13.2 keV) showing excellent values up to 65-75% of the theoretical values, reflecting the good quality of the FZPs. Spatially resolved diffraction efficiency measurements indicate the uniformity of the FZPs and a defect-free structure.

Ultra-high resolution zone-doubled diffractive X-ray optics for the multi-keV regime.

X-ray microscopy based on Fresnel zone plates is a powerful technique for sub-100 nm resolution imaging of biological and inorganic materials. Here, we report on the modeling, fabrication and characterization of zone-doubled Fresnel zone plates for the multi-keV regime (4-12 keV). We demonstrate unprecedented spatial resolution by resolving 15 nm lines and spaces in scanning transmission X-ray microscopy, and focusing diffraction efficiencies of 7.5% at 6.2 keV photon energy. These developments represent a significant step towards 10 nm spatial resolution for hard X-ray energies of up to 12 keV.

X-ray microfocussing combined with microfluidics for on-chip X-ray scattering measurements.

This work describes the fabrication of thin microfluidic devices in Kapton (polyimide). These chips are well-suited to perform X-ray scattering experiments using intense microfocussed beams, as Kapton is both relatively resistant to the high intensities generated by a synchrotron, and almost transparent to X-rays. We show networks of microchannels obtained using laser ablation of Kapton films, and we also present a simple way to perform fusion bonding between two Kapton films. The possibilities offered using such devices are illustrated with X-ray scattering experiments. These experiments demonstrate that structural measurements in the 1 A-20 nm range can be obtained with spatial resolutions of a few microns in a microchannel.