Further developments of the tender x-ray diffractometer at BL-15A2 of the photon factory

At the Photon Factory, we operate three SAXS beamlines: BL-6A, BL-10C, and BL-15A2. BL-15A2 is an undulator beamline, which has characteristic features in the tender X-ray region from 2100 to 4000 eV. In the BL-15A2 experimental hutch, two diffractometers are placed in tandem, and the upstream one is specially designed for tender X-ray scattering experiments. In particular, tender X-ray GISAXS is a very powerful tool for analyzing the depth-dependent surface structure of thin films and functional membranes. The diffractometer is equipped with an in-vacuum sample chamber and vacuum-compatible hybrid pixel array detector, PILATUS3 2M, which is directly connected to the beamline duct. The configuration allows high S/N scattering data to be obtained in the tender X-ray region. To improve the performance, we upgraded the beamline vacuum system, added a gate valve with an internal interlock, developed the sample heating system for in-situ tender X-ray GISAXS experiments, and enhanced the graphical user interface with an automated sample alignment function. These improvements have shortened the sample exchange time from over 1 hour to about 10 minutes as well as realized safer operations in a more user-friendly experimental environment.