Imaging products manufacturer e2v will provide Japan’s x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) with imaging sensors that will allow scientists to “see” the atomic structure of proteins and other nanoscale structures, the imaging products maker announced recently. A joint project of RIKEN (Japan’s large natural sciences research institute) and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, the XFEL, called the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron Laser (SACLA), has been designated a key technology of national importance by the Japanese government. The facility, located in Hyogo Prefecture, became available to researchers worldwide in March. The devices will form part of SACLA’s next generation of focal plane imaging sensors. Under the contract, e2V will provide 48 Phase 1 sensors and will custom-design Phase 3 devices. The new sensors will be manufactured on high-resistivity silicon and operated with a high back-substrate bias, which will increase its depth of depletion for higher quantum efficiency at red and near-infrared wavelengths. Both Phase 1 and 3 sensors will read out at 60 fps to capture 2 to 12 keV x-rays scattered from the beam. For more information, visit: www.e2v.com