New Rigaku XtaLAB Synergy-S diffractometer installed in the Laboratory of Crystallography

A new single-crystal X-ray diffractometer was installed in the Laboratory of Crystallography. This dual micro-focus source diffractometer (Mo, Cu) is equipped with a new generation curved photon counting X-ray detector (RIGAKU Hypix arc 150), allowing very fast measurements since more data are collected in a single exposure. The detector has almost zero noise, fast readout and energy discrimination, which largely increases the dynamic range of detection, a great advantage for addressing partially disordered structures, but also for approaching modulated structures difficult to access with our current setup. The diffractometer is equipped with a cooling system allowing measurements within a temperature range of 80-500K (Oxford Cryosystem Cryostream 800 plus).

The purchase of the diffractometer has been financed by the R’Equip project of the NSF in collaboration between CHIAM (C. Piguet) and our laboratory with important contributions of the Chemistry Section (CHIAM), Faculty of Sciences, COMAD, Physics Section (DQMP) and Academic Society of Geneva. All research groups in all domains of chemistry, physics and biology at the University of Geneva will greatly benefit from the improved possibilities provided by this novel diffractometer.