20 µs-resolved high-throughput X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy on a 500k pixel detector enabled by data-management workflow.

The performance of the new 52 kHz frame rate Rigaku XSPA-500k detector was characterized on beamline 8-ID-I at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne for X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) applications. Due to the large data flow produced by this detector (0.2 PB of data per 24 h of continuous operation), a workflow system was deployed that uses the Advanced Photon Source data-management (DM) system and high-performance software to rapidly reduce area-detector data to multi-tau and two-time correlation functions in near real time, providing human-in-the-loop feedback to experimenters.

Development of combined microstructure and structure characterization facility for and studies at the Advanced Photon Source.

Following many years of evolutionary development, first at the National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and then at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory, the APS ultrasmall-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) facility has been transformed by several new developments. These comprise a conversion to higher-order crystal optics and higher X-ray energies as the standard operating mode, rapid fly scan measurements also as a standard operational mode, automated contiguous pinhole small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements at intermediate scattering vectors, and associated rapid wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) measurements for X-ray diffraction without disturbing the sample geometry. With each mode using the USAXS incident beam optics upstream of the sample, USAXS/SAXS/WAXS measurements can now be made within 5 min, allowing and measurement capabilities with great flexibility under a wide range of sample conditions.

The NeXus data format.

NeXus is an effort by an international group of scientists to define a common data exchange and archival format for neutron, X-ray and muon experiments. NeXus is built on top of the scientific data format HDF5 and adds domain-specific rules for organizing data within HDF5 files, in addition to a dictionary of well defined domain-specific field names. The NeXus data format has two purposes.

Quantitative measurement of nanoparticle halo formation around colloidal microspheres in binary mixtures.

A new colloidal stabilization mechanism, known as nanoparticle "haloing" (Tohver, V.; Smay, J. E.

Windows for small-angle X-ray scattering cryostats.

To determine the suitability of commonly used windows for small-angle X-ray scattering, a range of materials, including Kapton, (aluminized) Mylar, beryllium, high-purity aluminium foil, mica and silicon nitride have been studied. At small wavevector transfers, Q, in the range 2 x 10(-3) to 0.2 nm(-1), the scattering from Kapton, mica and beryllium is reasonably well described by power laws in Q with exponents of -3.

Micro- to nanoscale structure of biocompatible PLA-PEO-PLA hydrogels.

We observe large-scale structures in hydrogels of poly(l-lactide)-poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(l-lactide) (PLLA-PEO-PLLA) ranging in size from a few hundred nanometers to several micrometers. These structures are apparent through both ultra-small angle scattering (USAS) techniques and confocal microscopy. The hydrogels showed power law scattering in the USAS regime, which is indicative of scattering from fractal structures.