You need to know the first order resolution needed and the highest resolution needed in order to have interpretable data for your system. Then the task is to select a camera length and a size that allows both of these to be achieved. To make this simple, please use our Q Calculator.
Enter the X-ray energy in KeV (all experiments are usually done at 12 keV) and a trial camera length in mm. Knowing the dimensions of the backstop and the detector active area, one can find the optimal camera length for your application by adjusting it in the application by trial and error.
BioCAT provides several area detectors for these experiments. Most users use either Pilatus or MAR detector.
For small angle fiber diffraction experiments, the available range of camera lengths go from approximately 1 to 9 m with 2-3 m being the most commonly used length. The minimum beamstop size that is practical to use with the standard small-angle camera is 4 mm. We are capable of accommodating a very wide variety of sample chambers, laser setups, etc.
Please contact Weikang Ma to discuss your needs for fiber and muscle diffraction experiments.
A short introduction to the basis of the equatorial X-ray diffraction pattern from muscle can be found here: Equatorial Diffraction Intro.
BioCAT Microdiffraction capabilities are described in Barrea, et al. X-ray micro-diffraction studies on biological samples at the BioCAT Beamline 18-ID at the Advanced Photon Source. J. Synchrotron Radiat. 2014 Sept;21:1200-5. doi: 10.1107/S1600577514012259.