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X-ray techniques have long been applied to chemical research, ranging from powder diffraction tools to analyse material structure to X-ray fluorescence measurements for sample composition. The development of high-brightness, accelerator-based X-ray sources has allowed chemists to use similar techniques but on more demanding samples and using more photon-hungry methods. X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs) are the latest in the development of these large-scale user facilities, opening up new avenues of research and the possibility of more advanced applications for a range of research. The SwissFEL XFEL project at the Paul Scherrer Institute will begin user operation in the hard X-ray (2.1–12.4 keV) photon energy range in 2018 with soft X-ray (240–1930 eV) user operation to follow and here we will present the details of this project, it's operating capabilities, and some aspects of the experimental stations that will be particularly attractive for chemistry research. SwissFEL is a revolutionary new machine that will complement and extend the time-resolved chemistry efforts in the Swiss research community.

We report on the application of a short working distance von Hamos geometry spectrometer to measure the inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) signals from solids and liquids. In contrast to typical IXS instruments where the spectrometer geometry is fixed and the incoming beam energy is scanned, the von Hamos geometry allows measurements to be made using a fixed optical arrangement with no moving parts. Thanks to the shot-to-shot capability of the spectrometer setup, we anticipate its application for the IXS technique at X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs). We discuss the capability of the spectrometer setup for IXS studies in terms of efficiency and required total incident photon flux for a given signal-to-noise ratio. The ultimate energy resolution of the spectrometer, which is a key parameter for IXS studies, was measured to the level of 150 meV at short crystal radius thanks to the application of segmented crystals for X-ray diffraction. The short working distance is a key parameter for spectrometer efficiency that is necessary to measure weak IXS signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SwissFEL X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) facility started construction at the Paul Scherrer Institute (Villigen, Switzerland) in 2013 and will be ready to accept its first users in 2018 on the Aramis hard X-ray branch. In the following sections we will summarize the various aspects of the project, including the design of the soft and hard X-ray branches of the accelerator, the results of SwissFEL performance simulations, details of the photon beamlines and experimental stations, and our first commissioning results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the application of a short working distance von Hamos geometry spectrometer to measure the inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) signals from solids and liquids. In contrast to typical IXS instruments where the spectrometer geometry is fixed and the incoming beam energy is scanned, the von Hamos geometry allows measurements to be made using a fixed optical arrangement with no moving parts. Thanks to the shot-to-shot capability of the spectrometer setup, we anticipate its application for the IXS technique at X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs). We discuss the capability of the spectrometer setup for IXS studies in terms of efficiency and required total incident photon flux for a given signal-to-noise ratio. The ultimate energy resolution of the spectrometer, which is a key parameter for IXS studies, was measured to the level of 150 meV at short crystal radius thanks to the application of segmented crystals for X-ray diffraction. The short working distance is a key parameter for spectrometer efficiency that is necessary to measure weak IXS signals.

The SwissFEL X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) facility started construction at the Paul Scherrer Institute (Villigen, Switzerland) in 2013 and will be ready to accept its first users in 2018 on the Aramis hard X-ray branch. In the following sections we will summarize the various aspects of the project, including the design of the soft and hard X-ray branches of the accelerator, the results of SwissFEL performance simulations, details of the photon beamlines and experimental stations, and our first commissioning results.

Powerful THz radiation confined in one field period or less is an adequate tool for triggering nonlinear actions. We show results towards the realization of a tunable high-power THz source based on a laser-driven frequency conversion scheme in plasma and nonlinear crystals. A powerful THz source in combination with the future X-ray Free Electron Laser facility in Switzerland (SwissFEL) holds promise for exciting experiments in a variety of different research areas.

In preparation for picosecond pump-probe experiments at the SwissFELX-ray laser facility, the feasibility of collectively initiating surface chemical reactions using energetic pulses of terahertz radiation is being tested.

Abstract: The Paul Scherrer Institute is planning the construction of an X-ray free electron laser (SwissFEL), which will produce 20-fs pulses of coherent X-rays in the wavelength range 0.1–7nm, with peak brightness approximately 1010 times that of a third-generation synchrotron beamline. The brightness, the coherence and the short pulses will provide opportunities for performing novel science in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, solid-state physics and materials science. It is planned that the SwissFEL will be operational by the end of 2016. The present article focuses on promising SwissFEL applications in the field of time-resolved X-ray scattering from chemical systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]