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Tuo's Project Page - RISE Summer 2007 |
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Intern: Tuo Huang, Physics, Grinnell College
Mentor: Youli Li
Faculty Supervisor: Youli Li
Department: Materials |
COMPUTER SIMULATION OF X-RAY PROPAGATION IN SAXS FACILITIES
SAXS (Small Angle X-ray Scattering) is a widely used method of microscopic
examination in materials research and it provides critical information about the
internal structure of the examined biological or chemical macromolecules. In an
SAXS facility, the incident X-ray beam must be very well defined by a series of
slits to prevent the transmitted beam from overwhelming the signal of the
scattered photons. The project focuses on the computer simulation of X-ray
propagation to provide reference to the set-up of SAXS facilities in order to
optimize the performance of the equipment. At the same time, experimental data
with different slit materials can also lead to more efficient designs of SAXS
facilities.
In the traditional three-slit set-up, parasitic scattering from the slits must
be removed to avoid overwhelming the signal of the scattered photon. This is
partly what complicates the set-up and makes SAXS facilities much longer in size
than their Wide Angle counterparts. The cost of doing so, however, is the
attenuated intensity of incident X-ray beam on the samples. It is demonstrated
in this research that slits made of single-crystal materials, such as silicon
wafer, can greatly improve the profile of the output X-ray beam and potentially
bring some changes to the existing set-up. With better slits and optimized
arrangement, X-ray beam can be much more efficiently utilized and thus bringing
higher quality of results for the user.
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