Broadband Quasielastic Scattering Spectroscopy Using a Multiline Frequency Comblike Spectrum in the Hard X-Ray Region.

We developed a novel quasielastic scattering spectroscopy system that uses a multiline frequency comblike resolution function to overcome the limit on the accessible timescale imposed by the inherent single-energy resolution of conventional spectroscopy systems. The new multiline system possesses multiple resolutions and can efficiently cover a wide time range, from 100 ps to 100 ns, where x-ray-based dynamic measurement techniques are being actively developed. It enables visualization of the relaxation shape and wave-number-dependent dynamic behavior using a two-dimensional detector, as demonstrated for the natural polymer polybutadine without deuteration.

Software for the data analysis of the arrival-timing monitor at SACLA.

X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) pulses from SPring-8 Ångstrom Compact free-electron LAser (SACLA) with a temporal duration of <10 fs have provided a variety of benefits in scientific research. In a previous study, an arrival-timing monitor was developed to improve the temporal resolution in pump-probe experiments at beamline 3 by rearranging data in the order of the arrival-timing jitter between the XFEL and the synchronized optical laser pulses. This paper presents Timing Monitor Analyzer (TMA), a software package by which users can conveniently obtain arrival-timing data in the analysis environment at SACLA. The package is composed of offline tools that pull stored data from cache storage, and online tools that pull data from a data-handling server in semi-real time during beam time. Users can select the most suitable tool for their purpose, and share the results through a network connection between the offline and online analysis environments.

A soft X-ray free-electron laser beamline at SACLA: the light source, photon beamline and experimental station.

The design and performance of a soft X-ray free-electron laser (FEL) beamline of the SPring-8 Compact free-electron LAser (SACLA) are described. The SPring-8 Compact SASE Source test accelerator, a prototype machine of SACLA, was relocated to the SACLA undulator hall for dedicated use for the soft X-ray FEL beamline. Since the accelerator is operated independently of the SACLA main linac that drives the two hard X-ray beamlines, it is possible to produce both soft and hard X-ray FEL simultaneously. The FEL pulse energy reached 110 µJ at a wavelength of 12.4 nm (i.e. photon energy of 100 eV) with an electron beam energy of 780 MeV.

Data acquisition system for X-ray free-electron laser experiments at SACLA.

A data acquisition system for X-ray free-electron laser experiments at SACLA has been developed. The system has been designed for reliable shot-to-shot data storage with a high data stream greater than 4 Gbps and massive data analysis. Configuration of the system and examples of prompt data analysis during experiments are presented. Upgrade plans for the system to extend flexibility are described.

High-speed classification of coherent X-ray diffraction patterns on the K computer for high-resolution single biomolecule imaging.

Single-particle coherent X-ray diffraction imaging using an X-ray free-electron laser has the potential to reveal the three-dimensional structure of a biological supra-molecule at sub-nanometer resolution. In order to realise this method, it is necessary to analyze as many as 1 × 10(6) noisy X-ray diffraction patterns, each for an unknown random target orientation. To cope with the severe quantum noise, patterns need to be classified according to their similarities and average similar patterns to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. A high-speed scalable scheme has been developed to carry out classification on the K computer, a 10PFLOPS supercomputer at RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science. It is designed to work on the real-time basis with the experimental diffraction pattern collection at the X-ray free-electron laser facility SACLA so that the result of classification can be feedback for optimizing experimental parameters during the experiment. The present status of our effort developing the system and also a result of application to a set of simulated diffraction patterns is reported. About 1 × 10(6) diffraction patterns were successfully classificatied by running 255 separate 1 h jobs in 385-node mode.

A photodiode amplifier system for pulse-by-pulse intensity measurement of an x-ray free electron laser.

We have developed a single-shot intensity-measurement system using a silicon positive-intrinsic-negative (PIN) photodiode for x-ray pulses from an x-ray free electron laser. A wide dynamic range (10(3)-10(11) photons/pulse) and long distance signal transmission (>100 m) were required for this measurement system. For this purpose, we developed charge-sensitive and shaping amplifiers, which can process charge pulses with a wide dynamic range and variable durations (ns-µs) and charge levels (pC-µC). Output signals from the amplifiers were transmitted to a data acquisition system through a long cable in the form of a differential signal. The x-ray pulse intensities were calculated from the peak values of the signals by a waveform fitting procedure. This system can measure 10(3)-10(9) photons/pulse of ~10 keV x-rays by direct irradiation of a silicon PIN photodiode, and from 10(7)-10(11) photons/pulse by detecting the x-rays scattered by a diamond film using the silicon PIN photodiode. This system gives a relative accuracy of ~10(-3) with a proper gain setting of the amplifiers for each measurement. Using this system, we succeeded in detecting weak light at the developmental phase of the light source, as well as intense light during lasing of the x-ray free electron laser.