3–4 Sept 2026
ALBA Synchrotron
Europe/Madrid timezone

FaXToR: The new Fast X‑ray Tomography and Radioscopy beamline at the ALBA synchrotron

3 Sept 2026, 17:40
1h 20m
Experimental hall (ALBA Synchrotron)

Experimental hall

ALBA Synchrotron

Speaker

Federico Cova (ALBA CELLS)

Description

The Fast X‑ray Tomography and Radioscopy (FaXToR) beamline at the ALBA synchrotron is a dedicated beamline for high‑speed micro‑tomography in the hard‑X‑ray regime (10–70 keV). Powered by a short in‑vacuum multipole wiggler, FaXToR delivers both filtered white and monochromatic beams with a maximum transverse size of 36 mm × 14 mm at the sample position, located 36 m downstream from the source. The endstation is designed for versatile, multiscale investigations: a suite of detectors enables simultaneous acquisition at differing spatial and temporal resolutions, and it can accommodate user provided in‑situ apparatuses (compression rigs, climatic and cryogenic chambers) to facilitate controlled environment experiments. Integration of a grating interferometer provides differential phase‑contrast and dark‑field channels, enhancing sensitivity to low‑density structures with reduced radiation dose.

FaXToR’s fast data handling and on‑the‑fly 3D reconstruction pipelines support sub‑second full‑tomography acquisition, meeting the demands of high‑throughput and dynamical studies. The beamline serves a broad community across medical and pharmaceutical research (neuro‑imaging, gynecological, liver, bone, cartilage, cardiovascular, and lung imaging), metal‑based theranostics (quantitative 3D biodistribution of nanoparticles), food and agriculture (non‑destructive plant, seed, soil, and product analysis), geoscience (fracture propagation and deformation in volcanic rocks), energy storage (real‑time lithium‑ion dynamics, solid–electrolyte interphase formation, dendrite growth), metal foams and structural materials (porosity, fluid flow, manufacturing processes), and additive manufacturing (operando process‑property mapping). By offering a large field of view, high temporal resolution, and multimodal imaging options, FaXToR enables full multiscale sample characterization from sub‑micron to millimeter scales. This work outlines the beamline layout, source properties, commissioning results, and the strategy for delivering a multiscale user experience at FaXToR and the future plans for improvements of the beamline and user experience

Authors

Federico Cova (ALBA CELLS) Dr Caori Organista (ALBA CELLS) Mr Steven Wohl (ALBA CELLS) Mr Llibert Ribó Mor (ALBA CELLS) Mr Joaquim Gómez Sánchez (ALBA CELLS) Mr Javier García Álvarez (ALBA CELLS) Dr Alessandra Patera (ALBA CELLS)

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