Beamline B21: high-throughput small-angle X-ray scattering at Diamond Light Source

B21 is a small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) beamline with a bending magnet source in the 3 GeV storage ring at the Diamond Light Source Ltd synchrotron in the UK. The beamline utilizes a double multi-layer monochromator and a toroidal focusing optic to deliver 2 × 10(12) photons per second to a 34 × 40 µm (FWHM) focal spot at the in-vacuum Eiger 4M (Dectris) detector. A high-performance liquid chromatography system and a liquid-handling robot make it possible to load solution samples into a temperature-controlled in-vacuum sample cell with a high level of automation. Alternatively, a range of viscous or solid materials may be loaded manually using a range of custom sample cells. A default scattering vector range from 0.0026 to 0.34 Å(−1) and low instrument background make B21 convenient for measuring a wide range of biological macromolecules. The beamline has run a full user programme since 2013.