Due to their strong interaction, electrons are an ideal probe for investigating matter. Compared to commonly used 12 keV X-rays, 3 MeV electrons, as used at REGAE, provide 5 orders of magnitude stronger interaction in combination with three orders of magnitude reduced radiation damage effects. This makes electrons an ideal probe for thin samples and radiation-sensitive low-Z materials, such as biomolecules, which provide only small scattering contrast in X-ray experiments.
REGAE provides electron pulses with an energy of 2 - 5 MeV and a duration down to 20 fs. Its unique ultra-low emittance makes REGAE ideally suited for time-resolved diffraction experiments of complex molecules such as proteins which require a combination of a high transversal coherence lengths in combination with a high bunch charge.
Recent upgrades of the diffraction setup at REGAE include a new sample chamber with a new goniometer and the implementation of a Jungfrau 1M integrating pixel detector for direct electron detection. In the first experiment with the new setup, we were able to determine the 3D structure of the mineral Mica at atomic resolution.
As a next step, we plan to conduct time-resolved diffraction experiments from different organic and inorganic samples, which will be briefly presented towards the end of the presentation.