The High-Power Laser Facility at ESRF ID24 beamline: A platform dedicated to time-resolved X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy coupled to laser-driven dynamic compression

X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) provides local electronic and structural information around specific atoms whose core electrons are excited by the incident keV-range X-ray radiation. This technique is increasingly used in dynamic compression experiments [e.g. 1, 2, 3] and offers complementary information to X-ray diffraction studies. The element selectivity of XAS makes it well adapted to determine oxidation states and local ionic environment of both ordered and disordered systems, and its sensitivity to ionic disorder has been recently used as a bulk temperature probe in simple solids where the disorder is mainly of thermal origin [e.g. 4].

In this talk, I will present an overview of the High-Power Laser Facility (HPLF), which is a laser-driven dynamic compression platform coupled to the energy-dispersive XAS beamline ID24-ED at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF-EBS) [5]. It achieves time-resolved (<100 ps duration) high-resolution X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) and Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) measurements of elements with absorption edges between 5 and 28 keV. HPLF drive laser currently operates at 1053 nm wavelength and delivers 55 J in 4 to 15 ns pulses, producing ablation pressures up to 140 GPa in black Kapton. The facility is equipped with two line-imaging VISAR systems, one line-imaging streak optical pyrometry system, and online analysis tools, facilitating shot-to-shot characterization of the hydrodynamic conditions.



[1] Sio et al., Nature Communications (2023)

[2] Turneaure et al., PRB (2022)

[3] Denoeud et al., PRL (2014)

[4] Balugani et al., PRL (2024)

[5] Hernandez et al., High-Pressure Research (2024)