A beam tracking optical table for synchrotron X-ray beamlines

R.G. van Silfhout
EMBL Hamburg Outstation

A platform for experiments at synchrotron radiation sources which automatically adjusts its position to compensate for beam drift has been designed. The platform consists of an optical table top that is placed on a motorised support. Fixed rigidly to the table top is the incident beam collimator. The collimator has two apertures which are separated 30 cm for each other and define a unique line of sight onto the sample under study. Two beam position monitors in front of the collimator apertures measure the beam position with high precision by intercepting the outer perimeter of the beam profile. The centre part of the beam passes unhindered through a hole in the middle of the monitors onto the sample. The beam position is continually assessed by software and if any beam displacement is detected, the position of the optical table is adjusted to re-establish alignment.

In this contribution the details of the design of soft- and hardware are presented and the performance of the set up is discussed.