This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The SSRL Structural Molecular Biology small-angle x-ray scattering facility BL4-2 is a permanent experimental station dedicated for structural biology studies. It receives the central fan of radiation from the new 20-pole wiggler beam, which was installed as a part of the SPEAR3 upgrade last year. The wiggler has been operated at a reduced wiggler field to manage thermal load on the optic components, which will be upgraded during the summer shutdown in 2006. This facility has operated fully since becoming a dedicated station in 2004 and has been oversubscribed at all times. This has been our second year of running the new instrument, which combines the conventional pin-hole geometry small angle scattering camera and the ultra small angle scattering setup. All users benefited significantly from the new automated sample-to-detector distance change capability and were able to cover desired angular ranges. The USAXS setup was commissioned as an integrated part of the in-hutch system this year. Our results show that the integrated instrument has at this point achieved the basic specifications comparable to those of the older stand-alone USAXS instrument. Notable hardware and software improvements are described within the specific subprojects.
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