The European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (EuXFEL) generates highly brilliant x-ray radiation with photon energies of typically 0.3 to 20 keV, with pulse energies of several mJ, and a beam diameter of approximately 0.5 mm at 9 keV at a distance of 250 m from the source. The beam is pulsed with pulse durations smaller than 100 fs. Luminescent screens along the beam transport path are used for beam diagnostics, to visualise the beam position and transverse shape. The EuXFEL beam can reach the damage threshold of the different screen materials already within a few pulses. Care has to be taken about permissible beam conditions, and the most suitable screens must be selected for a desired application. This contribution reports on the experiences with radiation damage of luminescent screens from different materials (YAG:Ce, diamond:B, BN) during the recently accomplished 5 years of user operation of EuXFEL and gives examples of different types of degradation: from slight degradations by structural changes of screens and surface damage up to screen fracture. Under the particular pulse structure of the EuXFEL radiation at 9 keV photon energy, YAG screens withstand up to 0.5 J/mm2 of incident pulse energy accumulated over successive radiation pulses, respectively 40 J/mm2 for diamond.
The European X-Ray Free-Electron-Laser facility requires diagnostics of its x-ray photon beam. Besides other diagnostic components, imaging stations will be employed for the characterisation of beam properties like position, profile, and pointing, before and after different types of mirrors, slits and monochromators. In combination with soft x-ray grating monochromators or other dispersive devices, imagers can also deliver spectral information. The imagers will usually absorb the beam (invasive devices), however, for some applications they will be partially transmissive to allow for beam pointing monitoring together with a second imaging unit further downstream. For the first commissioning 25 diagnostic imagers are planned at various positions in the photon beam tunnels. Further similar devices are under development for monitoring the beam properties at the experimental stations. The design of theses imaging stations will be described. Initial testing has started and the optimization of some components will be reported. The main components of these imaging stations are: retractable scintillators for conversion of x-rays to visible light, mirrors, optics and CCD / CMOS cameras for image recording, an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber, and the associated control electronics and software. Scintillators and mirrors will be the only components in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. Performance characteristics are addressed, especially mechanical stability, spatial resolution, signal-to-noise properties, and radiation hardness. The challenge in the design is to deal with a wide range of beam properties: photon energies from 0.26 – 25 keV, beam sizes from several 100 μm to several mm, large beam position shifts of up to 120 mm, pulse durations of 10 fs and pulse energies up to 10 mJ which may destroy materials by a single pulse.
The European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL.EU) will provide as-yet-unrivaled peak brilliance and ultrashort pulses of spatially coherent X-rays with a pulse length of less than 100 fs in the energy range between 0.25 and 25 keV. The high radiation intensity and ultra-short pulse duration will open a window for novel scientific techniques and will allow to explore new phenomena in biology, chemistry, material science, as well as matter at high energy density, atomic, ion and molecular physics. The variety of scientific applications and especially the unique XFEL.EU time structure require adequate instrumentation to be developed in order to exploit the full potential of the light source. To make optimal use of the unprecedented capabilities of the European XFEL and master these vast technological challenges, the European XFEL GmbH has started a detector R and D program. The technology concepts of the detector system presently under development are complementary in their performance and will cover the requirements of a large fraction of the scientific applications envisaged for the XFEL.EU facility. The actual status of the detector development projects which includes ultra-fast 2D imaging detectors, low repetition rate 2D detectors as well as strip detectors for e.g. spectroscopy applications and the infrastructure for the detectors’ calibration and tests will be presented. Furthermore, an overview of the forthcoming implementation phase of the European XFEL in terms of detector R and D will be given.
Signal and noise transfer properties of x-ray detectors are described by the detective quantum efficiency DQE. The DQE
is a precise analysis tool, however, it is not meant to identify the various noise sources.
The noise decomposition method is based on measured noise power spectra, following previous work by Mackenzie.
Noise is distinguished by its variations with dose and spatial frequency: Quantum noise, fixed pattern noise, Lubberts
noise, noise aliasing, and others.
By determining all major noise sources, DQE results can be extrapolated within a precision of approximately 2% to other
clinical relevant dose values that have not been measured. This precision shows an improvement to the method proposed
by Mackenzie. The major noise sources are further sub-divided. For the calculation of noise sub-components a precision
of 4% is achieved. The decomposition allows a detailed analysis of the dominant noise component in a certain dose or
spatial frequency range, in particular the determination of spectral noise equivalent dose, the impact on DQE by different
gain and offset correction schemes, and the influence of different scintillators on Lubberts noise.
For the desired improvement of electromagnetic compatibility using optical current transformers a separation of optical sensor head and electronic components by an optical link is required. Intensity modulated optical output signals of a polarimetric fiber optic current transformer can easily be transmitted by standard multimode fibers. A realization of the supply of a sensor fiber with linearly polarized light employing low cost standard monomode fiber is presented here. It is based on the transportation of depolarized optical waves and recovery of lineraly polarized light by a linear polarizer. First three methods of depolarizing optical waves emerging a semiconductor laser source using birefringent materials are theoretically described. They make use of a crystal wedge depolarizer, a crystal Lyot-depolarizer and a fiber Lyot- depolarizer. All methods are reflected on simplicity in handling and possiblity of low cost realization. A Lyot depolarizer employing a high birefringent fiber is chosen and tested. A single ended device of a polarimetric fiber optic current transformer with twisted sensor fiber is provided with such an optical link which transfer characteristics are not influenced by the birefringence properties of standard single mode fibers.
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