The first MOOC to provide an extensive introduction to synchrotron and XFEL facilities and associated techniques
Course Details
| Language | English |
| Duration | 6 weeks |
| Effort | 3-5 hours / week |
Description
Are you interested in investigating materials and their properties with unsurpassed accuracy and fidelity? Synchrotrons and XFELs count as Science’s premier microscopic tool in scientific endeavours as diverse as molecular biology, environmental science, cultural heritage, catalytical chemistry, and the electronic properties of novel materials, to name but a few examples.
This six-week course is pitched at a level to provide valuable insights into this powerful and interdisciplinary tool, from the interaction of x-rays with matter, via the generation of x-rays, to a detailed description of the machines (synchrotrons and XFELs) that produce intense x-ray sources and the manipulation of x-rays (reflection, focussing, etc) and control of the experimental stations ("beamlines") in which synchrotron and XFEL experiments are carried out.
What you will learn
- What are x-rays and how are they produced
- Interactions of x-rays with matter
- The generation of x-rays using accelerators
- Beamline optics and instrumentation
- Synchrotron and XFEL facilities
Prerequisites
1st-year undergraduate mathematical concepts
Plan
The course lasts 6 weeks, each week containing between six and eight videos, each lasting between approximately 5 and 10 minutes. The following topics will be covered:
Week 1: General intro of x-rays, synchrotrons, and XFELs:
Introduction, including examples; X-rays and society; What are synchrotrons and XFELs and why are they so in demand? X-rays and the electromagnetic spectrum. Wave-particle duality. Basic concepts in x-rays.
Week 2: Interactions of x-rays with matter
Definition of cross-sections. Electromagnetic radiation and dipole radiation. Interactions of x-rays with matter and the atomic form factor, f; Relating f to refraction, reflection, and absorption, including subsequent processes (fluorescence, photoelectrons, Auger electrons, secondary electrons).
Week 3: Basics of synchrotron (“machine”) physics
Electric and magnetic forces. Special relativity. Why accelerated charged particles generate electromagnetic radiation. Properties of relativistic electrons and the radiation they emit; Spectral flux, emittance, and brightness. Coherence. Using magnetic fields to steer electrons; RF sources and bunching. The magnet lattice.
Week 4: Basics of synchrotron (“machine”) physics, continued
General description of insertion devices. Undulators and wigglers. Undulator theory. Multibend achromats and diffraction-limited storage rings. XFELs v synchrotrons. XFEL architecture, SASE, typical properties of XFEL pulses. Examples of XFEL experiments.
Week 5: X-ray optics and beamlines
Front-ends. Ray optics and wave optics. Primary optics including mirrors and monochromators. Higher harmonics and their suppression.
Week 6: X-ray optics and beamlines, continued
Secondary optics, including capillary lenses, CRLs, and FZPs. Definition and sources of noise. Photon detectors, including integrating and photon-counting devices. Dispersive photon detectors. Electron-energy analysers. Brief teaser of the sister course on synchrotron techniques and applications.
