Translation calibration of inverse-kappa goniometers in macromolecular crystallography

Acta Cryst. (2011). A67, 219-228 (doi.org/10.1107/S0108767311004831)

EMBL/ESRF miniKappa goniometer head (MK3) implementing the inverse-kappa design as mounted on the MD2M diffractometer of the MX beamline ID14-4 at the ESRF.

Precise and convenient crystal reorientation is of experimental importance in macromolecular crystallography. While traditional multi-axis goniometers require all rotation axes to intersect a unique point at the sample position, recently developed miniaturized instruments are not as restricted. However, the samples must always be re-centered following a change in orientation. To overcome this inconvenience and allow the routine use of inverse-kappa goniometers, an automatic translation correction method and the corresponding calibration protocol have been developed at EMBL.