Current status of nanobeam x-ray diffraction station at SPring-8

We report current status of a synchrotron nanobeam X-ray diffraction (nanoXRD) station at SPring-8. The nanoXRD station is located at the 4th experimental hutch of the surface and interface structure beamline BL13XU. The 4th hutch, that was constructed in March 2015, is dedicated for the nanoXRD experiments. There are two types of focusing optics available at the station; a zone plate (ZP) and compound refractive lenses (CRLs). The ZP is used to focus X-rays with energy range from 8 to 15 keV. The minimum beam size of 110 × 150 nm² is available with the ZP. CRLs made of quartz glass are used for high energy X-rays up to 30 keV. Beam size at 30 keV is 1.6 × 1.6 µm² and the flux is 1.2 × 10¹⁰photons/s. Our main target samples are single crystalline thin films or nano-rods grown on substrates. Cross sectional observations of thick film have also been started. Users can align samples to the rotation center of the goniometer rapidly by preparation using an offline stage that is synchronized to an online stage. In addition, we have developed semi-automatic sample alignment system, that can align any position on a sample surface to the rotation center even if the sample has non-flat surface, like badly cleaved section of a crystal. Details of the station and equipments are introduced.