I04 – a versatile variable and microfocus macromolecular crystallography beamline at Diamond Light Source enabling new data collection protocols
At a Glance
Section titled “At a Glance”| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2023-08-22 |
| Journal | Acta Crystallographica Section A Foundations and Advances |
| Authors | R. Flaig, P. Romano, Marco Mazzorana, David Aragão |
| Institutions | Diamond Light Source |
Abstract
Section titled “Abstract”The macromolecular crystallography beamline I04 at Diamond [1] is a versatile variable and microfocus beamline aiming to provide the best quality diffraction data from crystals of macromolecules mainly at cryo temperatures.Beam delivery is achieved through the combination of a double crystal monochromator (DCM) with a F-switch which houses compound refractive lenses (CRL) that can be brought individually into the beam path.Both devices were designed inhouse and this combination allows variable focus of a very stable beam from the microfocus regime (8 µm x 5 µm (h x v)) to larger beam sizes (up to 110 µm x 100 µm) over the whole energy range of 6-18 keV.Beam delivery within 3% RMS of the beam size is achieved by making use of a dedicated feedback system using X-ray beam position monitors (XBPMs).In June 2022 the original U23 insertion device has been replaced with a cryocooled permanent magnet undulator (CPMU) and this has resulted in a significant flux increase which has opened up new opportunities, including faster data collection and the ability to address more challenging data collections, in particular for microcrystallography. Related to the insertion device upgrade we are carefully monitoring any heat load effects on the optics and are further characterising the performance of our F-switch device with the aim to optimise beam delivery.