A Modern Laboratory XAFS Cookbook

TL;DR

This paper presents accessible, cost-effective laboratory setups for high-quality XAFS and XES spectroscopy, enabling research comparable to synchrotron facilities using commercially available components.

Contribution

It introduces proven instrument designs for lab-based XAFS and XES that match synchrotron quality, utilizing readily available optics and x-ray sources.

Findings

Developed an inexpensive monochromator for XAFS/XES

Created a mid-scale XAFS facility with high flux and resolution

Designed multiple XES spectrometers with synchrotron-level performance

Abstract

We have recently demonstrated a very favorable, inexpensive modernization of lab-based x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and high-resolution x-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) using only commercially-available optics and x-ray tube sources. Here, we survey several proven instrument designs that can be readily implemented in any laboratory setting to achieve synchrotron-quality XAFS and XES for many systems in the 5 keV to 10 keV energy range. These approaches are based on our immediate experience with the development of: (1) an inexpensive, low-powered monochromator capable of performing either XAFS or XES, (2) a mid-scale XAFS user facility having 10^6/sec flux with sub-eV bandwidth on each of two independent beamlines, and (3) multiple XES spectrometers having 3rd-generation synchrotron performance for battery and actinide research.