The Home Source is no longer in regular use  in the facility and will be decomissioned and relocated to the Physics Department as part of the new Laboratory for Ultra-fast X-ray Diffraction (LUXD)  being developed by The Van Thor Group

If you are interested in carrying out an X-ray crystallgoraphy experiment expertise can be provided to support groups with no dedicated crystallographers from project inception to final structure solution. For all enquiries please contact the facility manager, who will be happy to discuss your needs and requirements and the associated charges.

X-ray diffraction equipment (No Longer In use)

As the equipment uses ionising radiation, all users have to undergo an induction and complete relevant registration forms before use. Please read how to get started.

Rigaku Micromax 007HF-M

left side  right side 
Rigaku Saturn 944+ CCD detector
mar345 image plate detector
four-circle AFC-11 partial χ goniometer with 2 theta swing arm  
Reflections measurable to 1.9Å in standard configuration or to 1.2Å with 2 theta at 50 degrees Reflections measurable to 1.6Å
Less than 2 seconds readout, exposure time in seconds 80 seconds per image
PlateMate assembly for data collection straight from the tray  
VHF (Very high flux) optics with Osmic VariMax mirrors
HF (High flux) optics  with Osmic VariMax HF mirrors
Sample spot size of ~100 microns Sample spot size is ~200 microns
Beam divergence between 10 to 2 mRad (motorised slits) Beam divergence between 4.8 and 0.1 mRad

Whilst slower than the Saturn CCD, the mar345 offers improved range of data (345mm detector diameter versus 135mm for the Saturn) and it is not limited by dynamic range.  Thus longer exposure times can be used for weaker diffracting samples.

Both sides are equipped with Oxford Cryosystems 700 cryostreams that autofill from 160L liquid nitrogen Dewars to give 7-10 days of continuous use.  In addition, liquid helium is used to prevent oxidation of the mirrors.