SIRIUS: A new beamline for in situ X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy studies of advanced materials and nanostructures at the SOLEIL Synchrotron

We present a new beamline of Synchrotron SOLEIL dedicated to the study of thin films, nanostructures, and advanced materials via X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy in the energy range 1.4-12 keV. This range covers most of the absorption edges of interest in the fields of semiconductors and functional oxides. In order to meet the increasing demand of advanced real-time characterization of nanoscale materials, the beamline optics and instrumentation have been designed with remarkable dynamic characteristics. SIRIUS presently ends in two experimental stations used for in situ X-ray characterization: a baby chamber and a chemical reactor, both mounted on a large seven-circle diffractometer. The rector is dedicated to atomic layer deposition and metal organic chemical vapor deposition of oxide materials. The third end-station, an in-vacuum diffractometer, will be operative by the end of 2016. SIRIUS offers several synchrotron radiation techniques which can be performed simultaneously or quasi-simultaneously on the same sample. We show here some examples of the first in situ results obtained at the beamline.