The Chimera chamber is a new non-ambient attachment from Oxford Cryosystems and essentially a smaller version of the Phenix Cryostat. It incorporates a single stage Gifford McMahon cooler (as opposed to the two-stage cooler of the Phenix) to enable measurements at temperatures from -203 ºC (70 K) to 252 ºC (525 K) without liquid nitrogen. Chimera offers excellent temperature stability of 0.1 K and variable ramp rates, (1 – 360 K/hour). It takes only 35 minutes to cool down from room temperature to 70 K. Thanks to the design there is virtually no consumption of helium. Sample preparation and exchange are quick and easy.
Overview
For X-ray diffraction at low temperatures without liquid nitrogen
The Chimera chamber is designed for in situ powder X-ray diffraction studies of both organic and inorganic compounds at low and medium-high temperatures. Typical applications of the Chimera cryostat are studies of dynamic structural changes or phase transformations, where it is extremely important to move very slowly and accurately through the specific temperature range. In addition to powder XRD, the reflection geometry enables basic measurements of thin films and solids (phase identification, residual stress and basic reflectometry).