As of January 19, 2005

for international journal X-Ray Spectrometry (John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Novel X-ray imaging technique allows nanoscale world to be seen in real space (December 16, 2004)

Remote-controlled X-ray spectrometer on surface of Mars (December 3, 2004)

One of the most exciting recent scientific discoveries is that Mars was possibly once wet and salty, suggesting an environment that could serve as a candidate for early life.  The two Mars Rovers, Sprit and Opportunity, have been collecting large amounts of data on the soil, rock and atmosphere by utilizing state-of-the-art analytical instruments including an X-ray spectrometer, which recently determined the major and minor elements of soil and rock samples taken from Meridiani Planum.  For more information, see the paper, �gChemistry of Rocks and Soils at Meridiani Planum from the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer�h, R. Rieder et al., Science, 306, 1746-1749 (2004).
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Imaging atomic motions in materials (December 3, 2004)

The ultra-fast X-ray diffraction technique has now become widely used.  Many experiments using this technique are, in principle, a so-called pump-probe measurement, using a Ti:sapphire laser system (wavelength 800 nm, 1-kHz repetition rate with 5-mJ pulse energy and 45-fs duration) and, for example,  a moving, 20-mm-thick Cu band to generate characteristic X-ray pulses.  Recently, a German group reported the successful imaging of coherent atomic motions in a GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice.  The motions are of great interest and are due to the excitation of electron-hole pairs in the GaAs subband.  Both expansion of the GaAs layers and contrast of the AlGaAs layers were observed, mainly because bonding in the GaAs layers was affected by the excitation.  For more information, see the paper, �gCoherent Atomic Motions in a Nanostructure Studied by Femtosecond X-ray Diffraction�h, M. Bargheer et al., Science, 306, 1771-1773 (2004).
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Ultra short pulses in XUV region (December 2, 2004)

So far, it has been difficult to observe nonlinear responses to an optical field in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and soft X-ray regions.  A research group from the University of Tokyo recently succeeded in generating intense isolated XUV pulses (photon energy 27.9 eV) that were shorter than 1 femtosecond through high-harmonic (9^th) generation by using a sub-10-femtosecond blue laser (photon energy 3.1 eV) producing a large dipole moment.  For more information, see the paper, �gNonlinear optics in the extreme ultraviolet�h, T. Sekikawa et al., Nature, 432, 605-608 (2004).
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A miniworkshop on Pixel Array Detector: Status and Applications was held at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan.  The contributors were M.O.Lampert (Canberra-EURYSIS), H.Oyanagi (AIST), G.Foran (ASRP), S.Muto (NIFS), T.Satoh (JAERI), H.Takahashi (Univ of Tokyo), and M.Okubo (AIST).  The requirements and solutions for pixel array detectors with high energy-resolution were discussed with particular emphasis on applications in X-ray spectrometry and plasma physics.  The abstract booklet  is available from Professor Hiroyuki Oyanagi, AIST, Phone: +81-29-8615072, Fax: +81-29-8615085, h.oyanagi@aist.go.jp
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Obituary -- Martin J. Berger (November 6, 2004)

Martin J. Berger, former Chief of the Radiation Theory Section and Director of the Photon and Charged-Particle Data Center at NBS, died on November 6, 2004 at the age of 82, from the effects of a hematoma following a fall in which he struck his head.  Dr. Berger was born in 1922 in Vienna, Austria. He earned a B.S. degree with a major in physics in 1943, received an M.S. and PhD, in physics in 1951, all at the University of Chicago. He started working at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in Washington in 1952.  His main area of interest was mathematical physics in relation to the penetration, diffusion and slowing of high-energy radiations through matter, and he rose to fame because of his theoretical works and Monte Carlo codes in the fields of electron and proton transport.  He published more than 149 scientific papers, including the seminal 1963 monograph, "Monte Carlo Calculation of the Penetration and Diffusion of Fast Charged Particles".  During his career at NBS, Berger received several awards for distinguished service, including the Silver and Gold Medals of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the 1990 Radiation Science and Technology Award from the American Nuclear Society.  In August of 2003, he was awarded the L. H. Gray Medal by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, becoming only the eleventh recipient of this prestigious award.  In October of that same year, Mr Berger was added to the NIST Gallery of Distinguished Scientists, Engineers and Administrators.  The Washington Post (November 28, 2004) carries an obituary written by Joe Holley.
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Obituary -- Howard F. McMurdie (September 26, 2004)

Howard F. McMurdie, a chemist and well-known member of NBS, died of pneumonia on September 26, 2004 aged 99.  Dr. McMurdie was born in Detroit, MI, in 1905 and graduated with a B.S. in chemistry from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.  He started work at NBS in April 1928.  He became very famous as an editor of the series Phase Diagrams for Ceramists published by the American Ceramic Society.  Dr. McMurdie was chief of the Crystallographic Section (formerly the Constitution and Microstructure Section) from 1944 until his official retirement at the end of 1965. Under his leadership, a project began that used X-ray diffraction on single crystals to determine their atomic structure.  This led to a relationship with the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD), which publishes the Powder Diffraction File, a compilation of diffraction patterns used for identification of crystalline solids.  He was awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal in 1957 for valuable contributions to the science of crystal chemistry and very valuable leadership in the development of a comprehensive program of work in this field.  In 1999, he received the highest award in the field of X-ray diffraction analysis, the Charles S. Barrett Award of the Denver X-Ray Conference.  In 2003, on the occasion of his second retirement, he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the NIST Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory.  He was a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society and the Mineralogical Society of America and a member of the American Crystallographic Association and the Electron Microscope Society of America.
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Thermo Electron announces latest metrology tool for metal film thickness and composition measurement (January 1, 2005)

PANalytical announces new version 3.0 software for MiniPal and MiniMate series of spectrometers (December 23, 2004)

With its recently released version 3.0, PANalytical has significantly improved the software for its range of MiniPal and MiniMate EDXRF benchtop spectrometers.  The new software includes recalibration, spectra comparison, and extended database formatting possibilities, as well as a variety of other enhancements and modifications.  Applications can now be copied to other systems of the same type with minimum effort.  Another advantage with this extended recalibration is that one set of calibration data can be copied from a research lab to a quality control or process control machine.  It is possible to compare spectra of samples from the same application or from different applications. Up to 64 spectra can be displayed at the same time. Spectra can also be scaled and shown in 3D.  For further information, contact PANalytical B.V, P.O. Box 13, 7600 AA, Almelo, The Netherlands, Phone: +31-546-534444, Fax: +31-546-534598, info@panalytical.com, http://www.panalytical.com/
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Institute for Scientific Instruments introduces an X-ray source with capillary optics that can be used for X-ray excitation in a SEM/EDAX (December, 2004)

The X-ray fluorescence module developed by the Institute for Scientific Instruments GmbH (IfG) - iMOXS - consists of a low-powered X-ray tube, focusing polycapillary optics and an adjustment unit.  In the scanning electron microscope (SEM), a focused electron beam scans the surface of a sample and generates its image.  Although the advantage of this electron probe microanalysis is its high spatial resolution, the detection limit ranges from 1~0.01 % due to electron-induced bremsstrahlung background.  A photon excitation option in SEM reduces the background significantly.  The polycapillary can concentrate the X-ray beam down to a spot size of 30 µm for Mo-K radiation.  For more information, contact IfG, Rudower Chaussee 29, D-12489 Berlin, Germany, Phone: +49-30-6392.6500, info@ifg-adlershof.de, http://www.ifg-adlershof.de
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SPECTRO Analytical Instruments opens new US sales & support office (October 18, 2004)

SPECTRO Analytical Instruments, Inc., has relocated its US headquarters from Fitchburg, MA where it has been operating for the past 23 years, to a new facility in Marlborough, MA near the intersection of route 495 and the Mass Turnpike - just west of Boston.  The new address is SPECTRO Analytical Instruments Inc., 450 Donald Lynch Blvd. Marlborough, MA 01752 USA  For further information, contact Marie-Chantal Stucki, Phone: +49-2821-8922102, Fax: +49-2821-8 922202, info@spectro.com
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