The Scanning X-ray Microscopy beamline (SXM) will have a range of applications including biological and bio-medical science, earth and environmental science, and materials science. The central theme of the beamline is the ability to obtain morphological and chemically-specific information on a full range of materials (inorganic/organic) under real conditions, providing a facility that will be new to the UK. I08 will use radiation in the energy range 250 to 4200 eV from an Apple II type undulator source to enable studies exploiting linearly or circularly polarised radiation, with lateral resolutions down to ~20 nm depending on the imaging mode. The operating energy range encompasses a significant number of important K and L absorption edges for low-Z elements, and relatively thick (~10 – 20 μm) samples will be able to be studied with both absorption and phase contrast techniques.

The end-station will accommodate a Scanning X-ray microscope (SXM), in which a focused X-ray spot is scanned in raster fashion over the specimen. The SXM combines good spatial resolution in 2D with the capability to produce high quality spectroscopic (NEXAFS) data for chemically-sensitive analysis, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping when operating at the upper end of the photon energy range. Special sample handling facilities should include an environmental cell to permit the study of (hydrated) samples in near-natural conditions, with the additional possibilities of sample tilting, heating and cooling, and the application of external magnetic fields.