As of September 21, 2005
for international journal X-Ray Spectrometry (John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Ultra fast X-ray diffraction - watching the birth and death of exotic molecules (August 19, 2005)
@
Synchrotron X-ray microprobe contributes to development of cheaper solar cells (August 14, 2005)
Professor E. Weber's team at Berkeley, California, US has recently
succeeded in finding a new technique to handle metal defects in
low-grade silicon, which could dramatically reduce the cost of solar
cells. At present, around 90 % of solar cells in the world are made from
a refined, highly purified form of silicon. This is because solar cells
made from cheaper forms of silicon do not perform well and also because
removing impurities is expensive. The new idea is to manipulate the
impurities in a way that reduces their detrimental impact on the solar
cell, instead of purifying the material. The team analyzed how metal
contaminants in silicon respond to different types of processing using a
synchrotron X-ray microprobe capable of detecting metal clusters as
small as 30 nanometers. In addition to micro-XRF and micro-XAFS, they
employed a new method based on a spectrally resolved X-ray-beam-induced
current, which generates a map of the minority-carrier diffusion length,
revealing the precise impacts of metal impurity clusters on local
material performance. They found that they were able to manipulate the
distribution of the metal impurities by varying the cooling rate of the
silicon. When the material is cooled quickly, the metal defects are
quickly locked in a scattered distribution. For more information, see
the paper, gEngineering metal-impurity nanodefects for low-cost solar
cellsh, T. Buonassisi et
al., Nature Materials,
4, 676-679 (2005).
@
X-ray analysis reveals why anthocyanin found in red roses turns other flowers a brilliant blue (August 11, 2005)
It is known that the colours of many flowers are produced by anthocyanin,
which has 6 different types of structure; a cyanidin-type anthocyanin is
responsible for the red in roses, while most blue flowers have
delphinidin-type anthocyanin. However, the same cyanidin-type
anthocyanin makes roses red but cornflowers blue. The phenomenon has so
far not been entirely explained. A Japanese group led by Professor K.
Takeda (Tokyo Gakugei University, Koganei, Tokyo) recently carried out
detailed X-ray analysis and clarified that a complex of six molecules
each of anthocyanin and flavone, with one ferric iron, one magnesium and
two calcium ions is responsible for the blue in cornflowers. For more information, see the paper,
gPhytochemistry: Structure of the blue cornflower pigmenth, M.
Shiono et
al., Nature, 436,
791 (2005).
@
Brilliant X-ray source assists in the discovery of a novel stable high-pressure form of silica with a pyrite-type structure (August 5, 2005)
The mineral silica (SiO2) is a common substance that is a
constituent of all of the planets in our solar system. At SPring-8,
Harima, Japan, Dr. K. Hirose (Tokyo Institute of Technology; Japan
Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology) and his co-workers
recently found that, above 268 GPa and 1800 K, silica exhibits a novel
stable high-pressure form with a pyrite-type structure, which is much
denser than other known silica phases. This form of silica could be one
of the main constituents of the core of a gas-giant planet such as
Uranus or Neptune.
For more information, see the
paper, gThe Pyrite-Type High-Pressure Form of Silicah, Y.
Kuwayama et
al., Science, 309,
923-925 (2005).
@
VUV free-electron laser starts at DESY (August 3, 2005)
The first user operation of the VUV free-electron laser (FEL) at DESY,
Hamburg in Germany is now under way. German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder paid a visit to the facility to join the celebrations. The
VUV-FEL employs the new technology developed at DESY from 1992 to 2004
by the international team as part of the TESLA Collaboration. Electrons
are brought to high energies by a superconducting linear accelerator,
and then race through an undulator, which is a periodic arrangement of
magnets that forces the electrons to follow a slalom course and thereby
radiate flashes of light. According to self-amplified spontaneous
emission (SASE), the process finally generates intense flashes of
short-wavelength laser light. Its peak brilliance surpasses that of the
most modern synchrotron radiation sources by a factor of ten million.
Its radiation is coherent, and its wavelength is tunable within a range
of 6 to 30 nm. The very intense radiation pulses have an extremely
short duration of 10~50 femto seconds. Five experimental stations have
been constructed at the facility. For more information, visit the Web
page, http://www.desy.de
@
Denver X-Ray Conference Awards (August 3, 2005)
The following awards were presented during the plenary session of the 54th Annual Denver X-Ray Conference:
The 2005 Barrett Award in X-ray Diffraction to D. Keith Bowen – Bede
Scientific Instruments, Ltd., Durham, UK and Brian Tanner – University
of Durham, Durham, UK
The 2005 Jenkins Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Advancement of
the Use of X-rays for Materials Analysis to Victor E. Buhrke –
Consultant, Portola Valley, CA
@
Hamamatsu releases new X-ray flat panel sensor with low noise and high resolution (September 15, 2005)
Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., a Japanese company manufacturer of
photomultiplier tubes, light sources, imaging tubes, opto-semiconductors,
and other imaging and analyzing systems, recently announced a new X-ray
flat panel sensor, the C10013SK. The 1.1-million-pixel sensor has quite
a large area of 50mm ~ 50mm. Each pixel is equipped with an individual
amplifier, thereby allowing the enhancement of the signal to background
ratio. The Gd2O3 scintillator is employed with
specifically designed fiber optics. For more information, contact T.
Inutsuka, Phone +81-53-434-3311, Fax +81-53-434-5184,
http://www.hamamatsu.com/
@
Kodak introduces new digital imaging systems for molecular imaging (September 1, 2005)
Eastman Kodak Co. has announced the availability of two new products,
the Image Station In-Vivo F and FX systems, developed for in-vivo
molecular imaging, which makes possible non-invasive measurement of
biological processes at a molecular level within a living organism. The
In-Vivo FX system includes a digital X-ray imaging module in addition to
its optical imaging capability. In contrast to conventional diagnostic
imaging that highlights conditions caused by disease, molecular imaging
can identify molecular abnormalities that are the origin of disease at a
very early stage. For additional information, call +1-203-786-5657, or
visit
http://www.kodak.com/go/molecular
@
EMT added XRF analysis as part of RoHS test methods (August 23, 2005)
Environmental Monitoring and Technologies, Inc. (EMT), Morton Grove,
Illinois, which conducts testing of materials to detect substances of
concern addressed in the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in
Electronic and Electrical Equipment (RoHS) Directive, recently announced
the addition of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to the suite of analytical test
methods offered for the evaluation of electronic and electrical
components. The XRF method is promising from the standpoint of
compiling material content declarations, specifically for the
determination of various metals and brominated compounds in plastics and
alloys. While XRF analysis does not provide definitive results for all
of the RoHS-regulated substances, it has, however, several clear
advantages including a rapid turnaround of results and the ability to
perform non-destructive testing. For more information, contact Kris
Erickson, Phone: +1-(847) 324-3346, Fax: +1-(847) 967-6735, info@emt.com,
http://www.emt.com/
@
Bruker AXS announces AUTOSTRUCTURE software for automated X-ray structure determination (August 23, 2005)
Bruker AXS Inc. has launched AUTOSTRUCTURE, a program suite for the
automatic determination of 3D crystal structures of organic,
mineralogical and inorganic molecules from X-ray data. Through
collaboration with the University of Durham, UK, the software requires
only approximate information on elemental composition from the user. It
then processes diffraction intensity data and cascades through
Patterson, direct and dual space methods to propose a structure model
within seconds. The software is suitable for use in chemical
crystallography as well as peptide and small protein structures of
moderate resolution. For further information, contact Roger Durst,
executive vice president, Phone +1-608-276-3066, roger.durst@bruker-axs.com,
http://www.bruker-axs.de/
@
SpectroscopyNow.com
For additional news about X-ray analysis and other spectroscopy sciences, browse the Wiley website.
http://www.SpectroscopyNow.com
Kenji Sakurai
Director, X-Ray Physics Group,
National Institute for
Materials Science (NIMS)
and Professor, Doctoral Program in Materials Science and
Engineering,
Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences,
University of Tsukuba
1-2-1, Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047 Japan
Phone : +81-29-859-2821, Fax : +81-29-859-2801
sakurai@yuhgiri.nims.go.jp
http://www.nims.go.jp/xray/lab/