Steel Plates (extra information)

Plate Dimensions

We have steel plates for sample mounting with the following applications and dimensions:

40-hole plates:

→ For powders and gels - holes filled with sample and covered with tape on both sides.

• 40 holes, each 5 x 5 mm square in shape. Eight (8) columns by five (5) rows.

• Hole pitch (spacing apart) 14 x 14 mm (horizontal x vertical). Designed for mounting/sealing samples with 12 mm wide tape.

• Available in 0.7 and 2.0 mm thickness. If in doubt, 0.7 mm sample thickness is the safer bet.

• Two plates can be mounted on the beamline at one time, so currently 80 samples can be run in one automated acquisition.

• Each plate has a laser-engraved number for each well. Label the plate on the same side as the laser engraved sample numbers. 

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X-hole plates

→ Alternative plate formats are available if the 40-hole plates are unsuitable. However, there are many advantages of the 40-hole plates, and we recommend using them whenever possible. The alternative plates can be needed for larger, solid samples, fibres etc, and are generally only suitable for measurements IN AIR. They are never recommended for powders or gels: use 40-hole plates for these (if using plate format).

• 10 mm diameter round holes, typically at 20 x 20 mm horizontal x vertical pitch (spacing apart).

• Limited number of plates, use only where needed

• Only one plate at a time can be loaded onto the beamline

• There are no labels on the plates. Label each plate, and every individual sample on BOTH sides!

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3D printed plates:

→ For samples being run in vacuum, especially when you are attempting to measure to high maximum q values.

• 45 square holes, each 5 x 5 mm square in shape. Nine (9) columns by five (5) rows.

• Available in 3 mm thickness.

• Only one plate can be loaded into the vacuum chamber at a time (limited by range of motion close to the gate valve).

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Sample Preparation

→ When loading samples, use Kapton tape where you need it, and not where you don't:

• Kapton tape is great for encapsulating samples that need support, such as powders, gels, some fluids or other formats that are not self-supporting for analysis and/or transport. In those cases, you'll need to cover the whole sample with tape, often on both sides, to seal and /or hold the sample in place.

• If there is tape over the part of sample to be analysed, make sure you include at least one corresponding blank sample (i.e. one or two layers of tape as per your sample mount) so that the background scattering from the tape can be measured, and later subtracted from the sample scattering. If you are running more than one plate, please include at least one blank sample per plate.

• Kapton (and any other) adhesive tape, if in the X-ray beam during analysis, adds considerable background scattering will affect your data quality. If the sample is self-supporting and only needs attaching the metal sample plate, keep the tape clear of where you plan to analyse the sample. Just use small pieces of tape at the sides or corners of the sample to hold it onto the plate. In this case, please leave one empty hole in each plate, which will be used to measure the instrument background for subtraction from the sample data.

Additional Information and Files

[To be updated. There are plans to add printable to scale outlines of the 40-hole plates and possibly 3D printing files if you want to make your own holders]