Instrumentation for fast in-situ X-ray structure measurements on non-equilibrium liquids

Probing the structure of non-equilibrium melts is important to advance the fundamental understanding of liquids and glass formation and development of new materials. Combined use of high flux, high energy X-rays and fast large area detectors enables in-situ probing of liquids suspended and laser beam heated in an aerodynamic levitator. High-energy X-rays provide high resolution data and avoid the complications of multiple scattering and absorption within the sample. The use of non-contact processing, heating, and measurement enables deep supercooling and avoids the need for corrections due to scattering by the container. The technique provides an extreme temperature sample environment for measurements at rates of 5 spectra per second from superheated and supercooled liquids.