Spectral X-Ray Diffraction using a 6 Megapixel Photon Counting Array Detector.

Pixel-array array detectors allow single-photon counting to be performed on a massively parallel scale, with several million counting circuits and detectors in the array. Because the number of photoelectrons produced at the detector surface depends on the photon energy, these detectors offer the possibility of spectral imaging. In this work, a statistical model of the instrument response is used to calibrate the detector on a per-pixel basis. In turn, the calibrated sensor was used to perform separation of dual-energy diffraction measurements into two monochromatic images. Targeting applications include multi-wavelength diffraction to aid in protein structure determination and X-ray diffraction imaging.

Linear fitting of multi-threshold counting data with a pixel-array detector for spectral X-ray imaging.

Experiments and modeling are described to perform spectral fitting of multi-threshold counting measurements on a pixel-array detector. An analytical model was developed for describing the probability density function of detected voltage in X-ray photon-counting arrays, utilizing fractional photon counting to account for edge/corner effects from voltage plumes that spread across multiple pixels. Each pixel was mathematically calibrated by fitting the detected voltage distributions to the model at both 13.5 keV and 15.0 keV X-ray energies. The model and established pixel responses were then exploited to statistically recover images of X-ray intensity as a function of X-ray energy in a simulated multi-wavelength and multi-counting threshold experiment.

Focusing, collimation and flux throughput at the IMCA-CAT bending-magnet beamline at the Advanced Photon Source.

The IMCA-CAT bending-magnet beamline was upgraded with a collimating mirror in order to achieve the energy resolution required to conduct high-quality multi- and single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD/SAD) experiments without sacrificing beamline flux throughput. Following the upgrade, the bending-magnet beamline achieves a flux of 8 x 10(11) photons s(-1) at 1 A wavelength, at a beamline aperture of 1.5 mrad (horizontal) x 86 microrad (vertical), with energy resolution (limited mostly by the intrinsic resolution of the monochromator optics) deltaE/E = 1.5 x 10(-4) (at 10 kV). The beamline operates in a dynamic range of 7.5-17.5 keV and delivers to the sample focused beam of size (FWHM) 240 microm (horizontally) x 160 microm (vertically). The performance of the 17-BM beamline optics and its deviation from ideally shaped optics is evaluated in the context of the requirements imposed by the needs of protein crystallography experiments. An assessment of flux losses is given in relation to the (geometric) properties of major beamline components.