Liquid Metal Jet X-ray Source for Structural Biology

The METALJET for X-ray diffraction delivers the smallest and most intensive X-ray beam of any home lab X-ray source to meet the ever increasing demands of modern structural biology including protein crystallography and Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS).

METALJET X-ray Source

Like conventional rotating anode generators and microfocus sources the METALJET uses the impact of electrons onto a metal target to generate X-rays. However, the solid anode of conventional generators is replaced by a high-speed jet of liquid metal that can accept a much higher power load. The result is an X-ray beam that is much brighter than what is currently achieved with a home source.

To deliver such a small X-ray beam required technical innovation in the design of the X-ray optics, since a smaller source requires greater precision in the d-spacing of the multilayers. The HELIOS MX optics for METALJET transmits the X-rays to the crystal in a uniformly small diameter, greatly exceeding the intensity of traditional X-ray sources.

The METALJET was developed in collaboration with Excillum and enables you to collect data on smaller, more weakly diffracting crystals. The compact source mounts directly on the goniometer. This ensures easy and stable downstream alignment of the source to the goniometer guaranteeing an excellent overall system precision.

The METALJET is designed compact enough to be mounted within the D8 VENTURE cabinet, resulting in a small-footprint diffraction system. By default the instrument is shipped dual-port ready, with a second port ready for another diffraction experiment, e.g. for BioSAXS investigations.

• Highest X-ray intensity due to exclusive patented liquid-metal-jet technology. The liquid target is able to accept a power load an order of magnitude greater than conventional rotating anode X-ray sources.
• Unprecedented brightness resulting from the extremely high power loading and smallest electron focus.

• Perfect spot quality is achieved through the high-brightness LaB₆ cathode and smooth, self-regenerating, liquid metal target which provides exceptional spatial and emission stability.
• Lower noise as the shorter-wavelength gallium Kα X-rays (λ = 1.34 Å) result in reduced background scatter and higher detector efficiency.
• Lower running costs are ensured by the low power consumption, minimal cooling requirements, and the self-regenerating target.
• Lower maintenance is achieved through the advanced design for serviceability and the use of best components with highest reliability.

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