The design, performance and first results of the new macromolecular crystallography beamline BL13-XALOC at the ALBA Synchrotron are described, including new developments in optics and control.

The performance of MISTRAL is reported, the soft X-ray transmission microscopy beamline at the ALBA light source (Barcelona, Spain) which is primarily dedicated to cryo soft X-ray tomography (cryo-SXT) for three-dimensional visualization of whole unstained cells at spatial resolutions down to 30 nm (half pitch). Short acquisition times allowing for high-throughput and correlative microscopy studies have promoted cryo-SXT as an emerging cellular imaging tool for structural cell biologists bridging the gap between optical and electron microscopy. In addition, the beamline offers the possibility of imaging magnetic domains in thin magnetic films that are illustrated here with an example.

The optical design of the BOREAS beamline operating at the ALBA synchrotron radiation facility is described. BOREAS is dedicated to resonant X-ray absorption and scattering experiments using soft X-rays, in an unusually extended photon energy range from 80 to above 4000 eV, and with full polarization control. Its optical scheme includes a fixed-included-angle, variable-line-spacing grating monochromator and a pair of refocusing mirrors, equipped with benders, in a Kirkpatrick-Baez arrangement. It is equipped with two end-stations, one for X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and the other for resonant magnetic scattering. The commissioning results show that the expected beamline performance is achieved both in terms of energy resolution and of photon flux at the sample position.

The spectroscopic LEEM-PEEM experimental station at the CIRCE helical undulator beamline, which started user operation at the ALBA Synchrotron Light Facility in 2012, is presented. This station, based on an Elmitec LEEM III microscope with electron imaging energy analyzer, permits surfaces to be imaged with chemical, structural and magnetic sensitivity down to a lateral spatial resolution better than 20 nm with X-ray excited photoelectrons and 10 nm in LEEM and UV-PEEM modes. Rotation around the surface normal and application of electric and (weak) magnetic fields are possible in the microscope chamber. In situ surface preparation capabilities include ion sputtering, high-temperature flashing, exposure to gases, and metal evaporation with quick evaporator exchange. Results from experiments in a variety of fields and imaging modes will be presented in order to illustrate the ALBA XPEEM capabilities.

The MISTRAL beamline is one of the seven phase-I beamlines at the ALBA synchrotron light source (Barcelona, Spain) that will be opened to users at the end of 2010. MISTRAL will be devoted to cryotomography in the water window and multi-keV spectral regions for biological applications. The optics design consists of a plane-grating monochromator that has been implemented using variable-line-spacing gratings to fulfil the requirements of X-ray microscopy using a reflective condenser. For instance, a fixed-focus condition independent of the included angle, constant magnification as well as coma and spherical aberration corrections are achieved with this system. The reported design is of wider use.

We study the modulation of programmable birefringent devices when they are illuminated by elliptically polarized light. We apply the theory to liquid-crystal display panels (LCDs). We consider the setups at the input and the output sides of the LCD as polarization-state generators (PSGs) or detectors (PSDs). We demonstrate that once the programmable birefringent device is described by a physical model, the amplitude and phase modulation depend only on the polarization state at the input of the device and on the output state detected behind it. This permits optimization of the modulation response only in terms of the input and the output states and the physical model of the device. The procedure to find the PSG and PSD configurations is detailed by using a geometrical interpretation of the states and the plates on the Poincaré sphere.

A weakly nonlinear analysis is presented of the small oscillations of nearly inviscid liquid bridges subjected to almost resonant axial vibrations of the disks. An amplitude equation is derived for the evolution of the complex amplitude of the oscillations that exhibits hysteresis and period doublings. We also analyse the steady streaming in the bulk forced by the oscillatory boundary layers near the disks; the boundary layer near the free surface produces no forcing terms. In particular some experimentally observed patterns are explained, and some new, non-observed ones are predicted. We conclude that the structure of this steady flow is not the appropriate one to counterbalance steady thermocapillary convection, but our results indicate how to get the desired counterbalancing effect.

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