The P66 time-resolved VUV spectroscopy beamline at PETRA III storage ring of DESY.

The paper presents a comprehensive description of the construction features of the P66 beamline at the PETRA III storage ring as well as the experimental possibilities offered by this unique facility to the research community. The beamline is dedicated to time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy experiments that require high flux, high energy resolution and pulsed excitation at ultrahigh vacuum conditions. The excitation photon energies available at the beamline cover the range from 3.7 to 40 eV with two Al- and Pt-coated diffraction gratings in normal incidence geometry. Two secondary monochromators equipped with several detectors are used to register the photoluminescence signal in the spectral range from 115 to 1200 nm. The pulsed nature of the synchrotron radiation at PETRA III allows the accumulation of luminescence decay kinetics within a time interval of 192 ns (timing mode) or 16 ns (brightness mode) with a time resolution of 130 ps. Time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy studies are performed using the method of time-correlated single photon counting. The paper also reviews recent advances, as well as the most common and important scientific cases of experimental research conducted at the beamline. Plans for the future development of the beamline, along with the expansion of experimental capabilities and the implementation of additional applications of the facility, are discussed.