Stable and reliable micro jets are important for many applications. Double flow focused micro jet... more Stable and reliable micro jets are important for many applications. Double flow focused micro jets are a novelty with an important advantage of significantly reduced sample consumption. Numerical simulations of double flow focused micro jets are a highly complex task. They represents a great computational challenge due to the multiphase nature of the problem, strong coupling between the gas and the two liquids and the sub-micron size cells needed. Simulations were performed with the open source computational fluid dynamics toolbox called OpenFOAM. Two multiphase solvers were used, one of which was modified in order to properly describe the interface between the focusing liquid and the gas. In this study two different incompressible physical models were considered and compared. A model with no mixing of the two fluids (multiphaseInterFoam solver) and a model where the diffusion of the two fluids is permitted (modified interMixingFoam solver). The results of simulations for the two di...
The ever-increasing brightness of synchrotron radiation sources demands improved X-ray optics to ... more The ever-increasing brightness of synchrotron radiation sources demands improved X-ray optics to utilize their capability for imaging and probing biological cells, nano-devices and functional matter on the nanometre scale with chemical sensitivity. Hard X-rays are ideal for high-resolution imaging and spectroscopic applications owing to their short wavelength, high penetrating power and chemical sensitivity. The penetrating power that makes X-rays useful for imaging also makes focusing them technologically challenging. Recent developments in layer deposition techniques have enabled the fabrication of a series of highly focusing X-ray lenses, known as wedged multi-layer Laue lenses. Improvements to the lens design and fabrication technique demand an accurate, robust, in situ and at-wavelength characterization method. To this end, a modified form of the speckle tracking wavefront metrology method has been developed. The ptychographic X-ray speckle tracking method is capable of operating with highly divergent wavefields. A useful by-product of this method is that it also provides high-resolution and aberration-free projection images of extended specimens. Three separate experiments using this method are reported, where the ray path angles have been resolved to within 4 nrad with an imaging resolution of 45 nm (full period). This method does not require a high degree of coherence, making it suitable for laboratory-based X-ray sources. Likewise, it is robust to errors in the registered sample positions, making it suitable for X-ray free-electron laser facilities, where beam-pointing fluctuations can be problematic for wavefront metrology.
The highest resolution of images of soft matter and biological materials is ultimately limited by... more The highest resolution of images of soft matter and biological materials is ultimately limited by modification of the structure, induced by the necessarily high energy of short-wavelength radiation. Imaging the inelastically scattered X-rays at a photon energy of 60 keV (0.02 nm wavelength) offers greater signal per energy transferred to the sample than coherent-scattering techniques such as phase-contrast microscopy and projection holography. We present images of dried, unstained, and unfixed biological objects obtained by scanning Compton X-ray microscopy, at a resolution of about 40 nm. This microscope was realised using novel wedged multilayer Laue lenses that were fabricated to sub-ångström precision, a new wavefront measurement scheme for hard X rays, and efficient pixel-array detectors. The doses required to form these images were as little as 0.02% of the tolerable dose and 0.05% of that needed for phase-contrast imaging at similar resolution using 12 keV photon energy. The images obtained provide a quantitative map of the projected mass density in the sample, as confirmed by imaging a silicon wedge. Based on these results, we find that it should be possible to obtain radiation damage-free images of biological samples at a resolution below 10 nm.
The results of an experimental study of micro-jets produced with a gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GD... more The results of an experimental study of micro-jets produced with a gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) under the influence of an electric field are provided and discussed for the first time. The experimental study is performed with a 50% volume mixture of water and ethanol, and nitrogen focusing gas. The liquid sample and gas Reynolds numbers range from 0.09–5.4 and 0–190, respectively. The external electrode was positioned 400–500 μm downstream of the nozzle tip and an effect of electric potential between the electrode and the sample liquid from 0–7 kV was investigated. The jetting parametric space is examined as a function of operating gas and liquid flow rates, outlet chamber pressure, and an external electric field. The experimentally observed jet diameter, length and velocity ranged from 1–25 μm, 50–500 μm and 0.5–10 m/s, respectively. The jetting shape snapshots were processed automatically using purposely developed computer vision software. The velocity of the jet was calculate...
The purpose of this work is to numerically evaluate the behavior of microscopic gas-focused liqui... more The purpose of this work is to numerically evaluate the behavior of microscopic gas-focused liquid sheets in terms of material properties, nozzle structure and operating conditions used for experiments in spectroscopy and scattering where a short optical path is required. The numerical simulations are presented of a gas flow focusing nozzle, capable of producing a stream consisting of a sequence of perpendicular micrometre thin liquid sheets. The nozzle structure consists of a central circular capillary for delivery of the liquid and two circular capillaries that provide the focusing gas flow in a converging direction from opposite directions. High velocity impinging gas jets accelerate and form a thin elliptically shaped liquid sheet which contracts downstream and eventually forms a similar shaped sheet in the plane perpendicular to the primary sheet. The process repeats further downstream with another contraction, forming the tertiary sheet, existing now in the same plane as the primary sheet. This produces a liquid jet in form of a series of perpendicular micrometre thin liquid sheets. Three dimensional conservation equations of mass, energy and momentum for a compressible two-phase system are solved with a finite volume approach and an algebraic volume of fluid method. The influence of liquid viscosity, density, surface tension, nozzle layout variation as well as gas and liquid operating parameters on the evolution of the primary liquid sheet is elaborated. The parameter space of six flow characterizing dimensionless numbers is explored in the following ranges: Reynolds gas number 64-130, Reynolds liquid number 122-620, Weber number 23-803, ratio of liquid to gas mass flow rate 16-58, viscosity ratio 26-79, and density ratio 4807-7221. The layout of the primary sheet is given in terms of sheet thickness, width and length. The results show minor effect of dynamic viscosity, a moderate effect of density and a dominant role of the surface tension. The liquid sheet shape is sensitive to the variation of gas and liquid flow rates as well as the nozzle's structure width and the angle between the liquid delivery and the focusing gas capillaries.
The purpose of this work is to determine, based on the computational model, whether a mixture of ... more The purpose of this work is to determine, based on the computational model, whether a mixture of a binary liquid is capable of producing longer, thinner and faster gas-focused micro-jets, compared to the mono-constituent liquids of its components. Mixtures of water with two different alcohols, water + ethanol and water + 2-propanol, are considered. The numerical study of pre-mixed liquids is performed in the double flow focusing nozzle geometry used in sample delivery in serial femtosecond crystallography experiments. The study reveals that an optimal mixture for maximizing the jet length exists both in a water + ethanol and in a water + 2-propanol system. Additionally, the use of 2-propanol instead of ethanol results in a 34% jet length increase, while the jet diameters and velocities are similar for both mixtures. Pure ethanol and pure 2-propanol are the optimum liquids to achieve the smallest diameter and the fastest jets. However, the overall aim is to find a mixture with the lo...
Improvements in x-ray optics critically depend on the measurement of their optical performance. T... more Improvements in x-ray optics critically depend on the measurement of their optical performance. The knowledge of wavefront aberrations, for example, can be used to improve the fabrication of optical elements or to design phase correctors to compensate for these errors. At present, the characterization of such optics is made using intense x-ray sources, such as synchrotrons. However, the limited access to these facilities can substantially slow down the development process. Improvements in the brightness of lab-based x-ray micro-sources in combination with the development of new metrology methods, particularly ptychographic x-ray speckle tracking, enable characterization of x-ray optics in the lab with a precision and sensitivity not possible before. Here, we present a laboratory setup that utilizes a commercially available x-ray source and can be used to characterize different types of x-ray optics. The setup is used in our laboratory on a routine basis to characterize multilayer La...
Formation of liquid sheets has been demonstrated as a critical capability needed in many differen... more Formation of liquid sheets has been demonstrated as a critical capability needed in many different research fields. Many different types of liquid sheets have been produced experimentally, its thickness ranging from few tens of nanometres to few micrometres. Due to the small size of such systems, where physical parameters such as thickness, velocity and temperature are difficult to measure, a need for numerical simulation of liquid sheets arises. In this paper we demonstrate such capability with sheets that can be used in experiments with synchrotrons, X-ray free electron lasers or lab sources. A modified gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) design is used in order to generate micrometre thin sheets. The system is characterised by a strongly coupled problem between the focusing gas flow and the liquid sheet flow. Investigation of varying physical properties of liquid is performed in order to demonstrate the effects on the sheet production. It was found that the primary sheet thickness is not sensitive to the variation of liquid viscosity and density. On the other hand, the variation of surface tension greatly affects the thickness and the width of a primary sheet, such as expected in flows where surface tension is the dominating force. Findings demonstrate that by lowering the surface tension of a liquid, i.e. changing liquid from water to alcohol for example, would produce thinner and wider sheets. Simulations were produced with OpenFOAM, relying on finite volume based multiphase solver "compressibleInterFoam", capable of simulating free surfaces. Mixture formulation of a multiphase system consists of an incompressible liquid phase along with a compressible ideal gaseous phase. Such model was also used in axisymmetric GDVN micro-jet simulations preformed in our previous work. Due to the need for 3D simulations and huge computational resources needed, an adaptive approach was chosen. This made the simulations of liquid sheets of thicknesses down to 500 nm possible.
The work presents verification of a numerical model for micro-jet focusing, where a coupled liqui... more The work presents verification of a numerical model for micro-jet focusing, where a coupled liquid and gas flow occurs in a gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN). Nozzlesof this type are usedinserial femtosecond crystallographyexperimentsto deliver samplesintoX-ray beam. Thefollowing performance criteria are desirable: the jet to be longer than 100 μm to avoid nozzle shadowing, the diameter as small as possibleto minimize the background signal,and the jet velocityas high as possible to avoid sample'sdouble X-ray exposure.Previouscomprehensive numerical investigation has been extended to includenumerical analysis of the tip jet velocities. These simulations were then comparedwith the experimental data. The coupled numerical model of a 3D printed GDVN considers a laminar two-phase, Newtonian, compressible flow, which is solved based on the finite volume method discretization and interface tracking with volume of fluid (VOF). The numerical solution is calculated with OpenFOAM based com...
Stable and reliable micro jets are important for many applications. Double flow focused micro jet... more Stable and reliable micro jets are important for many applications. Double flow focused micro jets are a novelty with an important advantage of significantly reduced sample consumption. Numerical simulations of double flow focused micro jets are a highly complex task. They represents a great computational challenge due to the multiphase nature of the problem, strong coupling between the gas and the two liquids and the sub-micron size cells needed. Simulations were performed with the open source computational fluid dynamics toolbox called OpenFOAM. Two multiphase solvers were used, one of which was modified in order to properly describe the interface between the focusing liquid and the gas. In this study two different incompressible physical models were considered and compared. A model with no mixing of the two fluids (multiphaseInterFoam solver) and a model where the diffusion of the two fluids is permitted (modified interMixingFoam solver). The results of simulations for the two di...
International Conference on X-Ray Lasers 2020, 2021
Multilayer Laue lenses were used for the first time to focus x-rays from an X-ray Free Electron L... more Multilayer Laue lenses were used for the first time to focus x-rays from an X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL). In an experiment, which was performed at the European XFEL, we demonstrated focusing to a spot size of a few tens of nanometers. A series of runs in which the number of pulses per train was increased from 1 to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 20 and 30 pulses per train, all with a pulse separation of 3.55 µs, was done using the same set of lenses. The increase in the number of pulses per train was accompanied with an increase of x-ray intensity (transmission) from 9% to 92% at 5 pulses per train, and then the transmission was reduced to 23.5 % when the pulses were increased further. The final working condition was 30 pulses per train and 23.5% transmission. Only at this condition we saw that the diffraction efficiency of the MLLs changed over the course of a pulse train, and this variation was reproducible from train to train. We present the procedure to align and characterize these lenses and discuss challenges working with the pulse trains from this unique x-ray source.
Liquid micro-jets are crucial for sample delivery of protein crystals and other macromolecular sa... more Liquid micro-jets are crucial for sample delivery of protein crystals and other macromolecular samples in serial femtosecond crystallography. When combined with MHz repetition rate sources, such as the European X-ray free-electron laser (EuXFEL) facility, it is important that the diffraction patterns are collected before the samples are damaged. This requires extremely thin and very fast jets. In this paper we first explore numerically the influence of different nozzle orifice designs on jet parameters and finally compare our simulations with the experimental data obtained for one particular design. A gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) model, based on a mixture formulation of Newtonian, compressible, two-phase flow, is numerically solved with the finite volume method and volume of fluid approach to deal with the moving boundary between the gas and liquid phases. The goal is to maximize the jet velocity and its length while minimizing the jet thickness. The design studies incorporate ...
One of the most successful ways to introduce samples in Serial Femtosecond Crystallography has be... more One of the most successful ways to introduce samples in Serial Femtosecond Crystallography has been the use of microscopic capillary liquid jets produced by gas flow focusing, whose length-to-diameter ratio and velocity are essential to fulfill the requirements of the high pulse rates of current XFELs. In this work, we demonstrate the validity of a classical scaling law with two universal constants to calculate that length as a function of the liquid properties and operating conditions. These constants are determined by fitting the scaling law to a large set of experimental and numerical measurements, including previously published data. Both the experimental and numerical jet lengths conform remarkably well to the proposed scaling law. We show that, while a capillary jet is a globally unstable system to linear perturbations above a critical length, its actual and shorter long-term average intact length is determined by the nonlinear perturbations coming from the jet breakup itself....
Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose... more Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
Serial femtosecond crystallography is a new method for protein structure determination utilizing ... more Serial femtosecond crystallography is a new method for protein structure determination utilizing intense and destructive X-ray pulses generated by free-electron lasers. The approach requires the means to deliver hydrated protein crystals to a focused X-ray beam and replenish them at the repetition rate of the pulses. A liquid-jet sample delivery system where a gas dynamic virtual nozzle is printed directly on a silicon-glass microfluidic chip using a 2-photon-polymerization 3D printing process is implemented. This allows for rapid prototyping and high-precision production of nozzles to suit the characteristics of a particular sample and opens up the possibility for high-throughput and versatile sample delivery systems that can integrate microfluidic components for sample detection, characterisation, or control. With the hybrid system described here, stable liquid jets with diameters between 1.5 µm at liquid flow rate of 1.5 µl/min and more than 20 µm at liquid flow rate of 100 µl/mi...
A study of the materials properties of WC/SiC multilayer coatings is presented. We investigated t... more A study of the materials properties of WC/SiC multilayer coatings is presented. We investigated the dependence of interface and surface roughness, intrinsic stress, microstructure, chemical composition, and stoichiometry as a function of multilayer period and in some cases compared these to W/SiC multilayer systems. The WC/SiC material pair forms multilayers with extremely smooth and sharp interfaces and both materials remain amorphous over a wide range of thicknesses. These properties are desirable for multilayer-based high-resolution diffractive x-ray optics, such as multilayer Laue lenses (MLLs), which require very thick films in which the layer spacing varies considerably. Thermal and structural stability studies show that WC/SiC multilayers have exceptional thermal stability, making this an extremely robust and favorable material pair for MLLs and other multilayer-based X-ray optical elements.
Stable and reliable micro jets are important for many applications. Double flow focused micro jet... more Stable and reliable micro jets are important for many applications. Double flow focused micro jets are a novelty with an important advantage of significantly reduced sample consumption. Numerical simulations of double flow focused micro jets are a highly complex task. They represents a great computational challenge due to the multiphase nature of the problem, strong coupling between the gas and the two liquids and the sub-micron size cells needed. Simulations were performed with the open source computational fluid dynamics toolbox called OpenFOAM. Two multiphase solvers were used, one of which was modified in order to properly describe the interface between the focusing liquid and the gas. In this study two different incompressible physical models were considered and compared. A model with no mixing of the two fluids (multiphaseInterFoam solver) and a model where the diffusion of the two fluids is permitted (modified interMixingFoam solver). The results of simulations for the two di...
The ever-increasing brightness of synchrotron radiation sources demands improved X-ray optics to ... more The ever-increasing brightness of synchrotron radiation sources demands improved X-ray optics to utilize their capability for imaging and probing biological cells, nano-devices and functional matter on the nanometre scale with chemical sensitivity. Hard X-rays are ideal for high-resolution imaging and spectroscopic applications owing to their short wavelength, high penetrating power and chemical sensitivity. The penetrating power that makes X-rays useful for imaging also makes focusing them technologically challenging. Recent developments in layer deposition techniques have enabled the fabrication of a series of highly focusing X-ray lenses, known as wedged multi-layer Laue lenses. Improvements to the lens design and fabrication technique demand an accurate, robust, in situ and at-wavelength characterization method. To this end, a modified form of the speckle tracking wavefront metrology method has been developed. The ptychographic X-ray speckle tracking method is capable of operating with highly divergent wavefields. A useful by-product of this method is that it also provides high-resolution and aberration-free projection images of extended specimens. Three separate experiments using this method are reported, where the ray path angles have been resolved to within 4 nrad with an imaging resolution of 45 nm (full period). This method does not require a high degree of coherence, making it suitable for laboratory-based X-ray sources. Likewise, it is robust to errors in the registered sample positions, making it suitable for X-ray free-electron laser facilities, where beam-pointing fluctuations can be problematic for wavefront metrology.
The highest resolution of images of soft matter and biological materials is ultimately limited by... more The highest resolution of images of soft matter and biological materials is ultimately limited by modification of the structure, induced by the necessarily high energy of short-wavelength radiation. Imaging the inelastically scattered X-rays at a photon energy of 60 keV (0.02 nm wavelength) offers greater signal per energy transferred to the sample than coherent-scattering techniques such as phase-contrast microscopy and projection holography. We present images of dried, unstained, and unfixed biological objects obtained by scanning Compton X-ray microscopy, at a resolution of about 40 nm. This microscope was realised using novel wedged multilayer Laue lenses that were fabricated to sub-ångström precision, a new wavefront measurement scheme for hard X rays, and efficient pixel-array detectors. The doses required to form these images were as little as 0.02% of the tolerable dose and 0.05% of that needed for phase-contrast imaging at similar resolution using 12 keV photon energy. The images obtained provide a quantitative map of the projected mass density in the sample, as confirmed by imaging a silicon wedge. Based on these results, we find that it should be possible to obtain radiation damage-free images of biological samples at a resolution below 10 nm.
The results of an experimental study of micro-jets produced with a gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GD... more The results of an experimental study of micro-jets produced with a gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) under the influence of an electric field are provided and discussed for the first time. The experimental study is performed with a 50% volume mixture of water and ethanol, and nitrogen focusing gas. The liquid sample and gas Reynolds numbers range from 0.09–5.4 and 0–190, respectively. The external electrode was positioned 400–500 μm downstream of the nozzle tip and an effect of electric potential between the electrode and the sample liquid from 0–7 kV was investigated. The jetting parametric space is examined as a function of operating gas and liquid flow rates, outlet chamber pressure, and an external electric field. The experimentally observed jet diameter, length and velocity ranged from 1–25 μm, 50–500 μm and 0.5–10 m/s, respectively. The jetting shape snapshots were processed automatically using purposely developed computer vision software. The velocity of the jet was calculate...
The purpose of this work is to numerically evaluate the behavior of microscopic gas-focused liqui... more The purpose of this work is to numerically evaluate the behavior of microscopic gas-focused liquid sheets in terms of material properties, nozzle structure and operating conditions used for experiments in spectroscopy and scattering where a short optical path is required. The numerical simulations are presented of a gas flow focusing nozzle, capable of producing a stream consisting of a sequence of perpendicular micrometre thin liquid sheets. The nozzle structure consists of a central circular capillary for delivery of the liquid and two circular capillaries that provide the focusing gas flow in a converging direction from opposite directions. High velocity impinging gas jets accelerate and form a thin elliptically shaped liquid sheet which contracts downstream and eventually forms a similar shaped sheet in the plane perpendicular to the primary sheet. The process repeats further downstream with another contraction, forming the tertiary sheet, existing now in the same plane as the primary sheet. This produces a liquid jet in form of a series of perpendicular micrometre thin liquid sheets. Three dimensional conservation equations of mass, energy and momentum for a compressible two-phase system are solved with a finite volume approach and an algebraic volume of fluid method. The influence of liquid viscosity, density, surface tension, nozzle layout variation as well as gas and liquid operating parameters on the evolution of the primary liquid sheet is elaborated. The parameter space of six flow characterizing dimensionless numbers is explored in the following ranges: Reynolds gas number 64-130, Reynolds liquid number 122-620, Weber number 23-803, ratio of liquid to gas mass flow rate 16-58, viscosity ratio 26-79, and density ratio 4807-7221. The layout of the primary sheet is given in terms of sheet thickness, width and length. The results show minor effect of dynamic viscosity, a moderate effect of density and a dominant role of the surface tension. The liquid sheet shape is sensitive to the variation of gas and liquid flow rates as well as the nozzle's structure width and the angle between the liquid delivery and the focusing gas capillaries.
The purpose of this work is to determine, based on the computational model, whether a mixture of ... more The purpose of this work is to determine, based on the computational model, whether a mixture of a binary liquid is capable of producing longer, thinner and faster gas-focused micro-jets, compared to the mono-constituent liquids of its components. Mixtures of water with two different alcohols, water + ethanol and water + 2-propanol, are considered. The numerical study of pre-mixed liquids is performed in the double flow focusing nozzle geometry used in sample delivery in serial femtosecond crystallography experiments. The study reveals that an optimal mixture for maximizing the jet length exists both in a water + ethanol and in a water + 2-propanol system. Additionally, the use of 2-propanol instead of ethanol results in a 34% jet length increase, while the jet diameters and velocities are similar for both mixtures. Pure ethanol and pure 2-propanol are the optimum liquids to achieve the smallest diameter and the fastest jets. However, the overall aim is to find a mixture with the lo...
Improvements in x-ray optics critically depend on the measurement of their optical performance. T... more Improvements in x-ray optics critically depend on the measurement of their optical performance. The knowledge of wavefront aberrations, for example, can be used to improve the fabrication of optical elements or to design phase correctors to compensate for these errors. At present, the characterization of such optics is made using intense x-ray sources, such as synchrotrons. However, the limited access to these facilities can substantially slow down the development process. Improvements in the brightness of lab-based x-ray micro-sources in combination with the development of new metrology methods, particularly ptychographic x-ray speckle tracking, enable characterization of x-ray optics in the lab with a precision and sensitivity not possible before. Here, we present a laboratory setup that utilizes a commercially available x-ray source and can be used to characterize different types of x-ray optics. The setup is used in our laboratory on a routine basis to characterize multilayer La...
Formation of liquid sheets has been demonstrated as a critical capability needed in many differen... more Formation of liquid sheets has been demonstrated as a critical capability needed in many different research fields. Many different types of liquid sheets have been produced experimentally, its thickness ranging from few tens of nanometres to few micrometres. Due to the small size of such systems, where physical parameters such as thickness, velocity and temperature are difficult to measure, a need for numerical simulation of liquid sheets arises. In this paper we demonstrate such capability with sheets that can be used in experiments with synchrotrons, X-ray free electron lasers or lab sources. A modified gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) design is used in order to generate micrometre thin sheets. The system is characterised by a strongly coupled problem between the focusing gas flow and the liquid sheet flow. Investigation of varying physical properties of liquid is performed in order to demonstrate the effects on the sheet production. It was found that the primary sheet thickness is not sensitive to the variation of liquid viscosity and density. On the other hand, the variation of surface tension greatly affects the thickness and the width of a primary sheet, such as expected in flows where surface tension is the dominating force. Findings demonstrate that by lowering the surface tension of a liquid, i.e. changing liquid from water to alcohol for example, would produce thinner and wider sheets. Simulations were produced with OpenFOAM, relying on finite volume based multiphase solver "compressibleInterFoam", capable of simulating free surfaces. Mixture formulation of a multiphase system consists of an incompressible liquid phase along with a compressible ideal gaseous phase. Such model was also used in axisymmetric GDVN micro-jet simulations preformed in our previous work. Due to the need for 3D simulations and huge computational resources needed, an adaptive approach was chosen. This made the simulations of liquid sheets of thicknesses down to 500 nm possible.
The work presents verification of a numerical model for micro-jet focusing, where a coupled liqui... more The work presents verification of a numerical model for micro-jet focusing, where a coupled liquid and gas flow occurs in a gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN). Nozzlesof this type are usedinserial femtosecond crystallographyexperimentsto deliver samplesintoX-ray beam. Thefollowing performance criteria are desirable: the jet to be longer than 100 μm to avoid nozzle shadowing, the diameter as small as possibleto minimize the background signal,and the jet velocityas high as possible to avoid sample'sdouble X-ray exposure.Previouscomprehensive numerical investigation has been extended to includenumerical analysis of the tip jet velocities. These simulations were then comparedwith the experimental data. The coupled numerical model of a 3D printed GDVN considers a laminar two-phase, Newtonian, compressible flow, which is solved based on the finite volume method discretization and interface tracking with volume of fluid (VOF). The numerical solution is calculated with OpenFOAM based com...
Stable and reliable micro jets are important for many applications. Double flow focused micro jet... more Stable and reliable micro jets are important for many applications. Double flow focused micro jets are a novelty with an important advantage of significantly reduced sample consumption. Numerical simulations of double flow focused micro jets are a highly complex task. They represents a great computational challenge due to the multiphase nature of the problem, strong coupling between the gas and the two liquids and the sub-micron size cells needed. Simulations were performed with the open source computational fluid dynamics toolbox called OpenFOAM. Two multiphase solvers were used, one of which was modified in order to properly describe the interface between the focusing liquid and the gas. In this study two different incompressible physical models were considered and compared. A model with no mixing of the two fluids (multiphaseInterFoam solver) and a model where the diffusion of the two fluids is permitted (modified interMixingFoam solver). The results of simulations for the two di...
International Conference on X-Ray Lasers 2020, 2021
Multilayer Laue lenses were used for the first time to focus x-rays from an X-ray Free Electron L... more Multilayer Laue lenses were used for the first time to focus x-rays from an X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL). In an experiment, which was performed at the European XFEL, we demonstrated focusing to a spot size of a few tens of nanometers. A series of runs in which the number of pulses per train was increased from 1 to 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 20 and 30 pulses per train, all with a pulse separation of 3.55 µs, was done using the same set of lenses. The increase in the number of pulses per train was accompanied with an increase of x-ray intensity (transmission) from 9% to 92% at 5 pulses per train, and then the transmission was reduced to 23.5 % when the pulses were increased further. The final working condition was 30 pulses per train and 23.5% transmission. Only at this condition we saw that the diffraction efficiency of the MLLs changed over the course of a pulse train, and this variation was reproducible from train to train. We present the procedure to align and characterize these lenses and discuss challenges working with the pulse trains from this unique x-ray source.
Liquid micro-jets are crucial for sample delivery of protein crystals and other macromolecular sa... more Liquid micro-jets are crucial for sample delivery of protein crystals and other macromolecular samples in serial femtosecond crystallography. When combined with MHz repetition rate sources, such as the European X-ray free-electron laser (EuXFEL) facility, it is important that the diffraction patterns are collected before the samples are damaged. This requires extremely thin and very fast jets. In this paper we first explore numerically the influence of different nozzle orifice designs on jet parameters and finally compare our simulations with the experimental data obtained for one particular design. A gas dynamic virtual nozzle (GDVN) model, based on a mixture formulation of Newtonian, compressible, two-phase flow, is numerically solved with the finite volume method and volume of fluid approach to deal with the moving boundary between the gas and liquid phases. The goal is to maximize the jet velocity and its length while minimizing the jet thickness. The design studies incorporate ...
One of the most successful ways to introduce samples in Serial Femtosecond Crystallography has be... more One of the most successful ways to introduce samples in Serial Femtosecond Crystallography has been the use of microscopic capillary liquid jets produced by gas flow focusing, whose length-to-diameter ratio and velocity are essential to fulfill the requirements of the high pulse rates of current XFELs. In this work, we demonstrate the validity of a classical scaling law with two universal constants to calculate that length as a function of the liquid properties and operating conditions. These constants are determined by fitting the scaling law to a large set of experimental and numerical measurements, including previously published data. Both the experimental and numerical jet lengths conform remarkably well to the proposed scaling law. We show that, while a capillary jet is a globally unstable system to linear perturbations above a critical length, its actual and shorter long-term average intact length is determined by the nonlinear perturbations coming from the jet breakup itself....
Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose... more Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
Serial femtosecond crystallography is a new method for protein structure determination utilizing ... more Serial femtosecond crystallography is a new method for protein structure determination utilizing intense and destructive X-ray pulses generated by free-electron lasers. The approach requires the means to deliver hydrated protein crystals to a focused X-ray beam and replenish them at the repetition rate of the pulses. A liquid-jet sample delivery system where a gas dynamic virtual nozzle is printed directly on a silicon-glass microfluidic chip using a 2-photon-polymerization 3D printing process is implemented. This allows for rapid prototyping and high-precision production of nozzles to suit the characteristics of a particular sample and opens up the possibility for high-throughput and versatile sample delivery systems that can integrate microfluidic components for sample detection, characterisation, or control. With the hybrid system described here, stable liquid jets with diameters between 1.5 µm at liquid flow rate of 1.5 µl/min and more than 20 µm at liquid flow rate of 100 µl/mi...
A study of the materials properties of WC/SiC multilayer coatings is presented. We investigated t... more A study of the materials properties of WC/SiC multilayer coatings is presented. We investigated the dependence of interface and surface roughness, intrinsic stress, microstructure, chemical composition, and stoichiometry as a function of multilayer period and in some cases compared these to W/SiC multilayer systems. The WC/SiC material pair forms multilayers with extremely smooth and sharp interfaces and both materials remain amorphous over a wide range of thicknesses. These properties are desirable for multilayer-based high-resolution diffractive x-ray optics, such as multilayer Laue lenses (MLLs), which require very thick films in which the layer spacing varies considerably. Thermal and structural stability studies show that WC/SiC multilayers have exceptional thermal stability, making this an extremely robust and favorable material pair for MLLs and other multilayer-based X-ray optical elements.
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