A new year is always a good time to try something new, and because we’re all stuck home because of the pandemic, it’s also a good occasion to learn more about some topics in science. I’ve consolidated here some resources that I have enjoyed over the years, or that are not easily accessible (the information about x-rays tend to be scattered, which is something x-ray do very well)
Light source 101
- A tour of the Advanced Light Source
- ALS Proposal User Guide
- “The Machine” (Ring-based synchrotron Light Sources)
- ALS Soft X-Ray XAS and RIXS
- Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscopy
- Resonant X-Ray Scattering
- X-Ray Diffraction at non-ambient conditions
- Synchrotron Infrared, What is it good for?
- Micro Computed Tomography
- XPEEM LS101 (X-Ray Photo-Emission Electron Microscopy)
- ARPES@ALS 101 (Angle-Resolved Photo-Emission Spectroscopy)
- XPCS (X-Ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy)
XPCS
Two years ago, Mark Sutton was invited at SLAC National Lab as a visiting scholar and graced us with a series of lecture on XPCS. Since I cannot find them online (but the recording are available), you can find the full course here:
X-Rays and coherence (Mark Sutton):- Lecture 1: Using coherent x-rays to study disordered materials
- Lecture 2: Mutual Coherence Functions
- Lecture 3: Optics and Mutual Coherence Functions
- Lecture 4: XPCS progress and results in CDI
- Lecture 5: Probabilities, XSVS and split-pulse XPCS
- Lecture 6: Beyond simple g2(t)
- Lecture 7: Some quantum pieces
Books and references on synchrotron radiation
- The Science and Technology of Undulators and Wigglers – James Clarke, 2007 (Berkeley Library full access)
- Undulators, Wigglers and Their Applications – P. Elleaume 2020 (no Berkeley access)
- Gratings, Mirrors and Slits: Beamline Design for Soft X-Ray – W.B Peatman, 1997 (Berkeley Library full access)
- Soft X-Rays and Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation – David Attwood, 2012 (Berkeley Library full access)
- Elements of Modern X-ray Physics –Jens Als-Nielsen, 2011 (Berkeley Library full access)
I found all these book interesting and complementary (I would rather read the Clarke over the Elleaume, and the Attwood over the Als-Nielsen, but perhaps because I deal with softer x-rays.)
For the interested reader, it might also be useful to look at how things work in electron microscopy. A good reference would be this one:- Transmission Electron Microscopy – Ludwig Reimer, 2008 (Berkeley Library full access)
ESRF Online seminars
I find that the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility Youtube channel offers a bunch of great talks on state-of-the art x-ray science (more in hard x-rays, but extremely cool nonetheless.)Global XAS Journal Club
The Global XAS Journal Club Youtube channel has a very interesting content on topics related to X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy, one of the most active group I am aware of.If you have additional resources to recommend (e.g. online courses, books or even Youtube channel with interesting x-ray seminars), feel free to contact me. Let 2021 be extra bright!