Near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy with x-ray free-electron lasers

We demonstrate the feasibility of near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy on solids by means of femtosecond soft x-ray pulses from a free-electron laser (FEL). Our experiments, carried out at the FEL at Hamburg used a special sample geometry, spectrographic energy dispersion, single shot position-sensitive detection, and a data normalization procedure that eliminates the severe fluctuations of the incident intensity in space and photon energy. As an example, we recorded the D-3(1) N-4,N-5 edge absorption resonance of La3+ ions in LaMnO3. Our study opens the door for x-ray absorption measurements on future x-ray FEL facilities. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3236540]