The FXE instrument enables ultrafast pump–probe experiments on ultrafast timescales—below 100 femtoseconds—for a broad scientific user community.
The instrument comprises two independent X-ray emission spectrometers that can be used simultaneously with a large-area 1 Megapixel detector for scattering studies. Our primary trigger for these measurements is an ultrafast, tunable laser, allowing excitation wavelengths from the UV to the IR to be used. FXE's research focus is on measuring ultrafast dynamics in the condensed phase using a broad range of hard X-ray techniques. This covers research fields as divers as ultrafast chemical and biochemical dynamics of solution-phase samples, solid-state condensed matter physics and nonlinear X-ray techniques. Techniques that have been demonstrated at FXE include:
- X-ray diffraction (XRD)
- X-ray diffuse scattering (XDS), or wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS)
- X-ray emission spectroscopies (XES): non-resonant, or resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS)
- X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS)