The 5^th June was the World Environment Day. To celebrate the event, ESRF published an article on photovoltaic cells, which is focused on perovskites studies carried out at the ESRF. One of the cited studies took place at XMaS. The work resulted from a collaboration between the University of Sheffield, University of Cambridge, Cardiff University, University of Oxford, University of Warwick and also the Khalifa University of Science and Technology (formerly Masdar Institute, United Arab Emirates). The full article can be viewed here.

The work prior to the extension of the experimental hutch is going as planned. The removal of the lead panel is due to start this week.

No sign of the old control cabin… Direct view on our neighbouring beamline ID29.

Belmeguenai M, Roussigné Y, Bouloussa H, Chérif SM, Stashkevich A, Nasui M, Gabor MS, Mora-Hernández A, Nicholson B, Inyang O-O, Hindmarch AT, and Bouchenoire L,“Thickness Dependence of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction in Co₂FeAl Ultrathin Films: Effects of Annealing Temperature and Heavy-Metal Material”

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.9.044044 and .pdf

Bill Stirling, the co-originator of the XMaS project with Malcolm Cooper, was awarded the prestigious title of Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for services to British science and international science collaboration. (credit: David Stirling)

May 16^th marked the first day of the XMaS beamline upgrade in the context of the ESRF Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS) project. The first part of the XMaS upgrade consists in extending the length of the present experimental hutch by about 4 m to accommodate the new source position in the upgraded storage ring. The new experimental hutch will occupy the space of the present control cabin. The control cabin will subsequently move 4 m back too and be located close to the offline x-ray source facility.

The XMaS diffractometer being craned out of the experimental hutch. First time in 20 years!

The flying XMaS diffractometer!

The experimental hutch without the diffractometer …

- a panoramic view of the experimental hutch

XMaS, the UK-CRG beamline at the ESRF supported by EPSRC. Credit: O. Bikondoa/ XMaS-ESRF (France)

- some of the beamline equipment:

In-situ photovoltaics fabrication at XMaS/ESRF. Credit: S. Lilliu/ XMaS-ESRF (France)

Magnetic WAXS/SAXS setup at XMaS-ESRF. Credit: L. Bouchenoire/ XMaS-ESRF (France)

Zhou L, Fox L, Włodek M, Islas L, Slastanova A, Robles E, Bikondoa O, Harniman R, Fox N, Cattelan M, Briscoe WH, "Surface structure of few layer grapheme"

DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2018.04.089

Cao Y, Wang Z, Park SY, Yuan Y, Liu X, Nikitin SM, Akamatsu H, Kareev M, Middey S, Meyers D, Thompson P, Ryan PJ, Shafer P, N’Diaye A, Arenholz E, Gopalan V, Zhu Y, Rabe KM & Chakhalian J, “Artificial two-dimensional polar metal at room temperature”

DOI:10.1038/s41467-018-03964-9 and (supplem. doc.)