Comprehensive characterization of gas dynamic virtual nozzles for x-ray free-electron laser experiments
Category
Published on
Type
journal-article
Author
Konstantinos Karpos and Sahba Zaare and Dimitra Manatou and Roberto C. Alvarez and Vivek Krishnan and Clint Ottmar and Jodi Gilletti and Aian Pableo and Diandra Doppler and Adil Ansari and Reza Nazari and Alexandra Ros and Richard A. Kirian
Citation
Karpos, K., Zaare, S., Manatou, D., Alvarez, R. C., Krishnan, V., Ottmar, C., Gilletti, J., Pableo, A., Doppler, D., Ansari, A., Nazari, R., Ros, A., & Kirian, R. A. (2024). Comprehensive characterization of gas dynamic virtual nozzles for
x-ray free-electron laser experiments. Structural Dynamics, 11(6). https://doi.org/10.1063/4.0000262
Abstract
We introduce a hardware–software system for rapidly characterizing liquid microjets for x-ray diffraction experiments. An open-source python-based software package allows for programmatic and automated data collection and analysis. We show how jet speed, length, and diameter are influenced by nozzle geometry, gas flow rate, liquid viscosity, and liquid flow rate. We introduce “jet instability” and “jet probability” metrics to help quantify the suitability of a given nozzle for x-ray diffraction experiments. Among our observations were pronounced improvements in jet stability and reliability when using asymmetric needle-tipped nozzles, which allowed for the production of microjects smaller than 250 nm in diameter, traveling faster than 120 m/s.
