Single-pulse (100 ps) extended x-ray absorption fine structure capability at the Dynamic Compression Sector

Determining real-time changes in the local atomistic order is important for a mechanistic understanding of shock wave induced structural and chemical changes. However, the single event and short duration (nanosecond times) nature of shock experiments pose challenges in obtaining Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) measurements—typically used for monitoring local order changes. Here, we report on a new single pulse (∼100 ps duration) transmission geometry EXAFS capability for use in laser shock-compression experiments at the Dynamic Compression Sector (DCS), Advanced Photon Source. We used a flat plate of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) as the spectrometer element to energy disperse x rays transmitted through the sample. It provided high efficiency with ∼15% of the x rays incident on the HOPG reaching an x-ray area detector with high quantum efficiency. This combination resulted in a good signal-to-noise ratio (∼103), an energy resolution of ∼10 eV at 10 keV, EXAFS spectra covering 100 s of eV, and a good pulse to pulse reproducibility of our single pulse measurements. Ambient EXAFS spectra for Cu and Au are compared to the reference spectra, validating our measurement system. Comparison of single pulse EXAFS results for ambient and laser shocked Ge(100) shows large changes in the local structure of the short lived state of shocked Ge. The current DCS EXAFS capability can be used to perform single pulse measurements in laser shocked materials from ∼9 keV to 13 keV. These EXAFS developments will be available to all users of the DCS.