Commissioning and performance of the variable line spacing plane grating monochromator beamline at the Canadian Light Source

The variable line spacing plane grating monochromator beamline at the Canadian Light Source (CLS) employs three grazing incidence variable line spacing gratings to cover a photon energy range of 5-250 eV. It uses a 185 mm period length planar permanent magnet insertion device as the photon source, sharing a straight section with another soft x-ray beamline at the CLS. The commissioning and performance of the beamline is reported. The high resolution photoabsorption spectra of Ar and PF(5) gases are reported. A resolving power of over 40,000 for photons in the low energy region and >10,000 for a wider energy range (8-200 eV) can be achieved. A photon flux of up to 2 x 10(12) photons/s per 100 mA with slit settings of 50 microm has been measured.