Altarelli Massimo, Mancuso Adrian P
European XFEL GmbH, Albert Einstein Ring 19, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
European XFEL GmbH, Albert Einstein Ring 19, 22761 Hamburg, Germany.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2014 Jul 17;369(1647):20130311. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0311.
The European X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facility, under construction in the Hamburg region, will provide high-peak brilliance (greater than 10(33) photons s(-1) mm(-2) mrad(-2) per 0.1% BW), ultrashort pulses (approx. 10 fs) of X-rays, with a high repetition rate (up to 27 000 pulses s(-1)) from 2016 onwards. The main features of this exceptional X-ray source, and the instrumentation developments necessary to exploit them fully, for application to a variety of scientific disciplines, are briefly summarized. In the case of structural biology, that has a central role in the scientific case of this new facility, the instruments and ancillary laboratories that are being planned and built within the baseline programme of the European XFEL and by consortia of users are also discussed. It is expected that the unique features of the source and the advanced features of the instrumentation will allow operation modes with more efficient use of sample materials, faster acquisition times, and conditions better approaching feasibility of single molecule imaging.
正在汉堡地区建设的欧洲X射线自由电子激光（XFEL）设施，从2016年起将提供高峰值亮度（每0.1%带宽大于10³³光子·秒⁻¹·毫米⁻²·毫弧度⁻²）、超短脉冲（约10飞秒）的X射线，且重复率很高（高达27000脉冲·秒⁻¹）。本文简要总结了这个非凡X射线源的主要特性，以及为充分利用这些特性以应用于各种科学学科而开展的仪器研发情况。在结构生物学方面，它在这个新设施的科学应用中起着核心作用，文中还讨论了正在欧洲XFEL基线计划内以及由用户联盟规划和建造的仪器及辅助实验室。预计该光源的独特特性和仪器的先进特性将实现更高效利用样品材料、更快采集时间以及更接近单分子成像可行性条件的运行模式。
