Experimental Station
A key feature of ForMAX is the combination of full-field tomography and SWAXS. In order to provide flexibility in terms of the different complementary experimental techniques, the experimental station is built around a single sample table, with tomography microscope/cameras and SWAXS detectors added in a modular manner. This allows efficient switching between different modes of operation, allowing combined full-field tomography and SWAXS experiments in a sequential manner.
The experimental station is an in-house design, tailored to the specific needs of ForMAX’s user community. The main components are as follows:
- Two beam conditioning units, including slits, beam diagnostics equipment, and two sets of compound refractive lenses to achieve either a larger or smaller beam spot at the sample position.
- A sample table with 200 mm vertical and horizontal (transverse) translation ranges and 200 kg load capacity.
- A motorized detector gantry, that allows the user to move the WAXS detector and tomography microscope in and out of the x-ray beam path. This allows combined full-field microtomography and SWAXS experiments in a sequential mode.
- A 9 m long, evacuated SAXS flight tube, with a SAXS detector inside on a motorized XYZ trolley. The sample to detector distance can be varied between approximately 0.5 and 7.5 m.
Details about the full-field tomography and SWAXS setups is found in the menu to the right. For combined full-field tomography and SWAXS experiments, equipment from the different setups can be combined.