_version_ 1866915341213368320
author Sapnik, Adam F.
Chater, Philip A.
Keeble, Dean S.
Evans, John S. O.
Bertolotti, Federica
Guagliardi, Antonietta
Støckler, Lise J.
Harbourne, Elodie A.
Borup, Anders B.
Silberg, Rebecca S.
Descamps, Adrien
Prescher, Clemens
Klee, Benjamin D.
Phelipeau, Axel
Ullah, Imran
Medina, Kárel G.
Bird, Tobias A.
Kaznelson, Viktoria
Lynn, William
Goodwin, Andrew L.
Iversen, Bo B.
Crepisson, Celine
Bozin, Emil S.
Jensen, Kirsten M. Ø.
McBride, Emma E.
Neder, Reinhard B.
Robinson, Ian
Wark, Justin
Andrzejewski, Michal
Boesenberg, Ulrike
Brambrink, Erik
Camarda, Carolina
Cerantola, Valerio
Goede, Sebastian
Höppner, Hauke
Humphries, Oliver S.
Konopkova, Zuzana
Kujala, Naresh
Michelat, Thomas
Nakatsutsumi, Motoaki
Pelka, Alexander
Preston, Thomas R.
Randolph, Lisa
Roeper, Michael
Schmidt, Andreas
Strohm, Cornelius
Tang, Minxue
Talkovski, Peter
Zastrau, Ulf
Appel, Karen
Keen, David A.
author_facet Sapnik, Adam F.
Chater, Philip A.
Keeble, Dean S.
Evans, John S. O.
Bertolotti, Federica
Guagliardi, Antonietta
Støckler, Lise J.
Harbourne, Elodie A.
Borup, Anders B.
Silberg, Rebecca S.
Descamps, Adrien
Prescher, Clemens
Klee, Benjamin D.
Phelipeau, Axel
Ullah, Imran
Medina, Kárel G.
Bird, Tobias A.
Kaznelson, Viktoria
Lynn, William
Goodwin, Andrew L.
Iversen, Bo B.
Crepisson, Celine
Bozin, Emil S.
Jensen, Kirsten M. Ø.
McBride, Emma E.
Neder, Reinhard B.
Robinson, Ian
Wark, Justin
Andrzejewski, Michal
Boesenberg, Ulrike
Brambrink, Erik
Camarda, Carolina
Cerantola, Valerio
Goede, Sebastian
Höppner, Hauke
Humphries, Oliver S.
Konopkova, Zuzana
Kujala, Naresh
Michelat, Thomas
Nakatsutsumi, Motoaki
Pelka, Alexander
Preston, Thomas R.
Randolph, Lisa
Roeper, Michael
Schmidt, Andreas
Strohm, Cornelius
Tang, Minxue
Talkovski, Peter
Zastrau, Ulf
Appel, Karen
Keen, David A.
contents High-quality total scattering data, a key tool for understanding atomic-scale structure in disordered materials, require stable instrumentation and access to high momentum transfers. This is now routine at dedicated synchrotron instrumentation using high-energy X-ray beams, but it is very challenging to measure a total scattering dataset in less than a few microseconds. This limits their effectiveness for capturing structural changes that occur at the much faster timescales of atomic motion. Current X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) provide femtosecond-pulsed X-ray beams with maximum energies of approximately 24 keV, giving the potential to measure total scattering and the attendant pair distribution functions (PDFs) on femtosecond timescales. Here, we show that this potential has been realised using the HED scientific instrument at the European XFEL and present normalised total scattering data for 0.35 Å-1 < Q < 16.6 Å-1 and their PDFs from a broad spectrum of materials, including crystalline, nanocrystalline and amorphous solids, liquids, and clusters in solution. We analyse the data using a variety of methods, including Rietveld refinement, small-box PDF refinement, joint reciprocal-real space refinement, cluster refinement, and Debye scattering analysis. The resolution function of the setup is also characterised. We conclusively show that high-quality data can be obtained from a single approximately 30 fs XFEL pulse. Our efforts not only significantly increase the existing maximum reported Q-range for an S(Q) measured at an XFEL but also mean that XFELs are now a viable X-ray source for the broad community of people using reciprocal space total scattering and PDF methods in their research.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_21462
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle High-Quality Ultra-Fast Total Scattering and Pair Distribution Function Data using an X-ray Free Electron Laser
Sapnik, Adam F.
Chater, Philip A.
Keeble, Dean S.
Evans, John S. O.
Bertolotti, Federica
Guagliardi, Antonietta
Støckler, Lise J.
Harbourne, Elodie A.
Borup, Anders B.
Silberg, Rebecca S.
Descamps, Adrien
Prescher, Clemens
Klee, Benjamin D.
Phelipeau, Axel
Ullah, Imran
Medina, Kárel G.
Bird, Tobias A.
Kaznelson, Viktoria
Lynn, William
Goodwin, Andrew L.
Iversen, Bo B.
Crepisson, Celine
Bozin, Emil S.
Jensen, Kirsten M. Ø.
McBride, Emma E.
Neder, Reinhard B.
Robinson, Ian
Wark, Justin
Andrzejewski, Michal
Boesenberg, Ulrike
Brambrink, Erik
Camarda, Carolina
Cerantola, Valerio
Goede, Sebastian
Höppner, Hauke
Humphries, Oliver S.
Konopkova, Zuzana
Kujala, Naresh
Michelat, Thomas
Nakatsutsumi, Motoaki
Pelka, Alexander
Preston, Thomas R.
Randolph, Lisa
Roeper, Michael
Schmidt, Andreas
Strohm, Cornelius
Tang, Minxue
Talkovski, Peter
Zastrau, Ulf
Appel, Karen
Keen, David A.
Materials Science
High-quality total scattering data, a key tool for understanding atomic-scale structure in disordered materials, require stable instrumentation and access to high momentum transfers. This is now routine at dedicated synchrotron instrumentation using high-energy X-ray beams, but it is very challenging to measure a total scattering dataset in less than a few microseconds. This limits their effectiveness for capturing structural changes that occur at the much faster timescales of atomic motion. Current X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) provide femtosecond-pulsed X-ray beams with maximum energies of approximately 24 keV, giving the potential to measure total scattering and the attendant pair distribution functions (PDFs) on femtosecond timescales. Here, we show that this potential has been realised using the HED scientific instrument at the European XFEL and present normalised total scattering data for 0.35 Å-1 < Q < 16.6 Å-1 and their PDFs from a broad spectrum of materials, including crystalline, nanocrystalline and amorphous solids, liquids, and clusters in solution. We analyse the data using a variety of methods, including Rietveld refinement, small-box PDF refinement, joint reciprocal-real space refinement, cluster refinement, and Debye scattering analysis. The resolution function of the setup is also characterised. We conclusively show that high-quality data can be obtained from a single approximately 30 fs XFEL pulse. Our efforts not only significantly increase the existing maximum reported Q-range for an S(Q) measured at an XFEL but also mean that XFELs are now a viable X-ray source for the broad community of people using reciprocal space total scattering and PDF methods in their research.
title High-Quality Ultra-Fast Total Scattering and Pair Distribution Function Data using an X-ray Free Electron Laser
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.21462