ID14 `Quadriga', a Beamline for Protein Crystallography at the ESRF

Abstract

The ESRF undulator beamline ID14 `Quadriga' is dedicated to monochromatic macromolecular crystallography. Using two undulators with 23 mm and 42 mm periods and a minimum gap of 16 mm installed on a high-β section, it will provide high-brilliance X-ray beams at around 13.5 keV, as well as a wide tuneability between 6.8 and 40 keV. Based on the Troika concept, this beamline has four simultaneously operating experimental stations: three side stations, EH1, EH2 and EH3, using thin diamond crystals, and an end station, EH4, with a fast-scan double-crystal monochromator. Station EH3 has a κ-diffractometer, and an off-line Weissenberg camera with a large 80 × 80 cm active area combined with a 2048 × 2048 CCD detector. During data collection the image plates are placed and removed by a robot located inside the hutch using a cassette system. After data collection the image plates are scanned with an off-line drum scanner. Station EH4 is designed for MAD applications, including Xe K-edge anomalous experiments, and is equipped with a 2048 × 2048 CCD detector on a pseudo 2θ arm. A common graphical user interface and a database will be available to cover all aspects of data collection, including strategy optimization. First results on the performance of the optics elements and initial crystallographic results are presented.