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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Measurement of X-ray Beam Coherence along Multiple Directions Using 2-D Checkerboard Phase Grating
Published on: October 11, 2016
Direct measurement of X-ray-induced heating of microcrystals
Anna J Warren1, Danny Axford1, Robin L Owen1
1Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK.
Abstract:
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.
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