Open AccessDirect measurement of X‐ray‐induced heating of microcrystals
Author(s) -
Warren Anna J.,
Axford Danny,
Owen Robin L.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of synchrotron radiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.172
H-Index - 99
ISSN - 1600-5775
DOI - 10.1107/s1600577519003849
Subject(s) - x ray , materials science , crystallography , nanotechnology , physics , nuclear engineering , chemistry , optics , engineering
Temperature control is a key aspect of macromolecular crystallography, with the technique of cryocooling routinely being used to mitigate X‐ray‐induced damage. Beam‐induced heating could cause the temperature of crystals to rise above the glass transition temperature, greatly increasing the rate of damage. X‐ray‐induced heating of ruby crystals of 20–40 µm in size has been quantified non‐invasively by monitoring the emission wavelengths of X‐ray‐induced fluorescence during exposure to the X‐ray beam. For the beam sizes and dose rates typically used in macromolecular crystallography, the temperature rises are of the order of 20 K. The temperature changes observed are compared with models in the literature and can be used as a validation tool for future models.