Simulation of THz streaking of photoelectrons created by X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser and reconstruction of the free-electron laser pulse lengths.

In this article, the effect of stretching of short X-ray pulses after symmetric or asymmetric diffraction on crystal systems is studied. This is used to determine the optimal experimental arrangement to minimize the pulse stretching during diffraction.

The recent upgrade of the infrared beamline at the BESSY II storage ring made possible improved characterization of molecules and materials at different length and time scales. The new nano-spectroscopy endstation based on a scattering-type scanning optical microscope enables infrared imaging and spectroscopy with a spatial resolution better than 30 nm.

The FemtoMAX beamline facilitates studies of the structural dynamics of materials on the femtosecond timescale. The first commissioning results are presented.

A gas monitor detector was implemented and characterized at the Soft X-ray Research instrument (SXR) to measure the average, absolute and pulse-resolved photon flux of the LCLS beam in the energy range between 280 and 2000 eV.

A MHz X-ray diffraction set-up for the investigation of material behaviour under dynamic compression in a diamond anvil cell at intermediate strain rates has been developed at the High Energy Density (HED) instrument at the European XFEL.

An experimental protocol promising immediate improvements in the temporal resolution achievable with synchrotron sources is described.

A high-energy-resolution X-ray spectrometer has been commissioned at the SXFEL Facility, delivering single-shot resolving power beyond 20000 to provide support for fine-tuning and optimization of the machine, during scientific research. The fine structure of the individual spiky peak in the SASE spectrum is clearly resolved to characterize the pulse length of FEL radiation.

Linear and non-linear effects that could be evidenced in one-dimensional photonic crystals with ultra-short and ultra-intense X-ray free-electron radiation pulses are presented.

The photon diagnostics available at the SwissFEL Aramis beamline are described. The working principles of various devices, their function and their expected or measured performance are discussed.