The small-angle X-ray scattering beamline at ELETTRA: A new powerful station for fast structural investigations on complex fluids with synchrotron radiation

The double-focusing high-flux wiggler beamline dedicated to Small Angle and Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS/WAXS) at ELETTRA has recently gone into operation. It has been designed specifically for time-resolved (resolution similar to 1 ms) structure investigations on gels, liquid crystals, (bio)po lymers, amorphous materials, muscles and proteins in solution. The beamline is working at 3 fixed energies, namely 5.4, 8 and 16 keV, therefore the be amline is equally applicable to very thin (e.g., single muscle fibres) and optically thick (alloys or ceramics, having high Z) specimen. At the photon energy of 8 keV the SAXS-resolution ranges from 1 to about 140 nm in d-spa cing, and the flux at the sample is 2 x 10(12) photons/s corresponding to a flux density of 5 x 10(11) ph/s (ELETTRA: 2 GeV and 250 mA). It is also po ssible to perform simultaneously nide-angle diffraction measurements in the d-spacing range of 0.12 to 0.94 nm (at 8 keV). Typical spot sizes are 5.4 x 1.8 mm(2) at the sample and 1.2 x 0.6 mm(2) in the focal spot. A multi-pu rpose sample stage allows to install a large variety of user-designed instr umentation, in order to perform temperature scans and jumps, pressure scans and jumps, shear and flow jump relaxation experiments, grazing incidence S WAXS, micro-spot scanning SWAXS, as well as studies applying mechanical str esses or magnetic fields.