Vacuum-compatible photon-counting hybrid pixel detector for wide-angle x-ray scattering, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray reflectometry in the tender x-ray range

A vacuum-compatible photon-counting hybrid pixel detector has been installed in the ultra-high vacuum reflectometer of the four-crystal monochromator beamline of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt at the electron storage ring BESSY II in Berlin, Germany. The setup is based on the PILATUS3 100K module. The detector can be used in the entire photon energy range accessible at the beamline from 1.75 keV to 10 keV. Complementing the already installed vacuum-compatible PILATUS 1M detector used for small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and grazing incidence SAXS, it is possible to access larger scattering angles. The water-cooled module is located on the goniometer arm and can be positioned from −90° to 90° with respect to the incoming beam at a distance of about 200 mm from the sample. To perform absolute scattering experiments, the linearity, homogeneity, and angular dependence of the quantum efficiency, including their relative uncertainties, have been investigated. In addition, the first results of the performance in wide-angle x-ray scattering, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray reflectometry are presented.