Small-Angle X-ray Scattering at the ESRF High-Brilliance Beamline

Abstract

The high-brilliance beamline (BL4/ID2) at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble has been constructed with the emphasis on time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering and macromolecular crystallography. It has been open to users for two years. The beamline has opened up new areas in small-angle scattering research, facilitating ( a ) small-angle crystallography on structures with unit cells of several hundredths of nanometres, ( b ) overlap with the light scattering range for the study of optical systems, ( c ) high photon flux for time-resolved experiments and ( d ) a high spatial coherence allowing submicrometre imaging with X-rays. The set-up and the detector system of the small-angle scattering station are presented. A method for obtaining absolute scattering intensities is described. The parasitic background at the station is discussed in terms of absolute scattering intensities.