Diamond DIAD

Overview

The DIAD (Dual Imaging and Diffraction) beamline at Diamond Light Source is a unique synchrotron instrument designed to acquire imaging and diffraction¹ measurements from the same specimen location, quasi-simultaneously.

¹ diffraction is not part of the twin in gVXR.

Beam Characteristics

Parameter	Value
Energy range	7–38 keV
Geometry	Parallel beam
Acquisition	Imaging + diffraction
Beam type	Monochromatic / pink beam

Scientific Applications

The DIAD beamline is particularly suited to research involving:

Battery materials
Additive manufacturing
Metals and alloys
Phase transformations
Residual stress analysis
Catalysis
Geological materials
Biomaterials
In-situ and operando experiments

The unique dual-beam design allows tomography and diffraction¹ measurements to be acquired quasi-simultaneously at the same location within a specimen, enabling direct correlation between morphology and crystallographic information.

Twin Fidelity

Unlike a purely geometrical representation, the DIAD digital twin includes experimentally measured and calibrated parameters:

Measured synchrotron spectra
Measured detector line-spread function (LSF)
Calibrated flux curves
Detector gain model
Dark-field response
Scintillator energy response
Mechanical positioning constraints

These models enable realistic simulation of image quality, noise, blur, and beam hardening effects observed on the real instrument.

This allows realistic simulation of DIAD experiments before beamtime and supports reconstruction development, machine-learning dataset generation, and scan protocol optimisation.

X-ray Source

Monochromatic Beam

Property	Value
Geometry	Parallel beam
Energy range	14.01–37.92 keV
Flux model	Energy-dependent calibrated flux
Detector blur	Measured LSF included

Pink Beam (Low Angle)

Property	Value
Geometry	Parallel beam
Spectrum	Measured spectrum
Energy range	~1.5–49.5 keV
Filtration	Al (0.1–4 mm), Cu (0.5 mm)

Pink Beam (High Angle)

Property	Value
Geometry	Parallel beam
Spectrum	Measured spectrum
Energy range	~1.5–49.5 keV
Filtration	Al (0.1–4 mm), Cu (0.5 mm)

Detector Model

The digital twin includes a physics-based detector model calibrated from experimental measurements.

Detector Characteristics

Property	Value
Resolution	2560 × 2160 pixels
Pixel pitch	0.5 μm
Scintillator	Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂
Scintillator thickness	170 μm
Dark-field noise	Included
Detector gain	Included
Line spread function	Measured and modelled

Simulated Effects

Detector blur (LSF)
Detector gain
Scintillator energy response
Dark-current bias
Dark-current noise
Quantum noise through calibrated flux measurements

Acquisition Geometry

Source Position

Parameter	Value
Source-to-object distance	47.5 m

Detector Position

Parameter	Value
Object-to-detector distance	1.25 mm – 1.37 m
Typical maximum used experimentally	~300 mm

This geometry enables both absorption-contrast and propagation-based phase-contrast imaging.

Why This Twin Is Unique

The DIAD digital twin reproduces one of the world’s few beamlines designed for quasi-simultaneous imaging and diffraction measurements on the same specimen.

The implementation goes beyond simple geometry reproduction by incorporating experimentally measured spectra, calibrated flux models, detector-response characteristics, detector blur measurements, and mechanical constraints observed on the real instrument.

This enables realistic simulation of synchrotron imaging experiments and provides a valuable platform for experiment planning, reconstruction development, and machine-learning dataset generation before beamtime.

The twin is particularly valuable for researchers interested in correlating microstructural imaging with diffraction-based material characterisation.

Affiliations

Facility: Diamond Light Source
Beamline: DIAD - Dual Imaging and Diffraction
Country: United Kingdom