As of September 28, 2006

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

3D visualization of plant seed's growth (September 14, 2006)

Scientists from CNRS at the University J. Fourier of Grenoble and from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) have recently succeeded in constructing 3D pictures of a living plant seed using the holotomography technique with synchrotron light.  This revealed the presence of a network of voids between the cells that may be used for storing the oxygen needed for efficient germination.  For more information, see the paper, “Quantitative phase tomography of Arabidopsis seeds reveals intercellular void network", P. Cloetens et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online before print September 14, 2006.
　

In-situ X-ray analysis of working catalysis (September 1, 2006)

Professor Hutchings (Cardiff University, UK) and his colleagues recently published some interesting results on vanadium phosphates (VPOs). VPOs are catalysts used in industry to spur the partial oxidation of n-butane to maleic anhydride, which is then used as a starting material for products such as resins and lubricants.  The research group utilized in-situ powder X-ray diffraction, in addition to laser Raman and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies.  They determined the transformation of VPO phases as a function of temperature and with various reactants and products present over the catalyst.  They concluded that the presence of the reactants rapidly converts w-VOPO₄ to d-VOPO₄, but that the initial formation of the phase may create V⁺⁵ sites associated with increased catalytic activity.  For more information, see the paper, “Chemically Induced Fast Solid-State Transitions of w-VOPO₄ in Vanadium Phosphate Catalyst ", M. Conte et al., Science. 313, 1270 (2006).
　

Synchrotron X-rays reveal elemental Zr and Ti bulk metallic glass as phantom (August 1, 2006)

Scientists at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) led by Dr W. Utsumi have proved that the formation of bulk metallic glass of elemental Zr and Ti, which was recently reported (see for example, Zhang and Zhao, Nature 430, 332 (2004) and Y. Wang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 155501 (2005)) was some sort of phantom.  The experiment basically took the form of X-ray diffraction in high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, but in addition to the normal energy-dispersive detector, the research group employed an in situ angular-dispersive X-ray diffractometer equipped with a 2D detector and X-ray transparent anvils.  The disappearance of all the Bragg peaks in the one-dimensional energy-dispersive data could be taken as evidence of amorphization.  However, the research group found several intense Bragg spots in their angular-dispersive data, even in the exact same conditions where amorphization was reported.  This indicates that Zr and Ti do not form glass, but that the grains grow rapidly.  The experiments were carried out at BL14B1 and BL22XU, SPring-8, Japan.  For more information, see the paper, "Does Bulk Metallic Glass of Elemental Zr and Ti Exist?", T. Hattori et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 96, 255504 (2006).

FEL at Hamburg reaches water window (September 7, 2006)

At the FLASH facility at DESY, Hamburg, the free-electron laser (FEL) generated laser light flashes at wavelengths between 13.5 and 13.8 nm with an average power of 10 mW and record energies of up to 170 µJ/pulse at repetition rates of 150 Hz.  Since the pulses have a duration of only around 10 fsec, the peak power can reach 10 GW/pulse.  These powers are larger than is currently available at even the biggest plasma X-ray laser facilities worldwide.  The use of the fifth harmonic (2.7 nm) enables FLASH to reach deep into the water window, which is crucially important for the investigation of biological samples.  For more information, contact Petra Folkerts, Press officer XFEL project, FLASH, DESY, Phone: +49-40-8998-4977, Fax: +49-40-8998-2020, petra.folkerts@desy.de, http://www.xfel.net

The 2006 Masao Horiba Awards: Y. Terada, H. Hayashi, K. Janssens and M. Ando (August 22, 2006)

HORIBA, Ltd. has announced the prizewinners of the 2006 Masao Horiba Awards; Dr. Yasuko Terada, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute for "Innovation and Application of X-ray Microbeam Fluorescence Analysis Using High-energy Radiation", Dr. Hisashi Hayashi, Japan Women's University for "Development of New X-ray Spectrometry Using Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering", and Professor Koen Janssens, University of Antwerp, Belgium for "X-ray Based Speciation of Major and Trace Constituents in Heterogeneous Materials of Environmental and Cultural Heritage Origin".  In addition, Professor Masami Ando, Tokyo University of Science was selected as the winner of the Masao Horiba Special Award for "Development of a System for Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer".  The awards ceremony and a discussion session between the prizewinners and academic and research experts will be held at the Shiran Kaikan, Kyoto University on Tuesday, October 17.  For more information, visit http://www.jp.horiba.com/index_e.htm

Second beamline now in operation at deep infrared FEL at Dresden  (August 21, 2006)

At the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf (FZR) in Dresden, Germany, the second undulator of the free-electron laser facility has gone into operation, producing light up to the hard-to-access range of the deep far infrared.  The Dresden FEL now covers the wavelength range, invisible to humans, from 3 to 150 micrometers.  The asset of every free-electron laser is its tunability, i.e., the wavelength or the color of the light can be adjusted at will over a large range.  Scientists at FZR have a particular interest in this far-infrared light, which is located between the ranges of microwaves and the infrared and is often called Terahertz (THz) radiation.  At FZR, THz radiation is used in particular to study the dynamical behavior of electrons in semiconductor nanostructures.  For more information, contact Annette Weissig, Phone +49-351-260-3688, a.weissig@fz-rossendorf.de, http://www.fz-rossendorf.de/

Obituary -- Neville Smith (August 18, 2006)

Neville Smith, scientific director for the Advanced Light Source of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a leading authority in the field of photoemission spectroscopy, died on August 18, 2006, at age 64, unexpectedly of cancer.  A native of England with a PhD in physics from Cambridge University, he moved to the US in 1966.  After post-doctoral research at Stanford University under photoemission spectroscopy pioneer William Spicer, he joined the staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories, and continued the study of the electronic structure of solids and surfaces for 25 years.  In 1991, Dr Smith was awarded the prestigious Davisson-Germer Prize of the American Physical Society for his contributions to the development of momentum-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.  In 1994, he was named as the first scientific program head of the Advanced Light Source (ALS).  Under his leadership, the ALS scientific program thrived.  "It is not the number of warm bodies on the floor but the quality of science produced that is the true measure of a user facility's success," Dr. Smith once said.  During his tenure as scientific director, the number of scientific users of the ALS grew from a few hundred to several thousand.  There will be no funeral, but a memorial service to celebrate Smith’s life will be held in the fall.

PANalytical introduces new PIXcel detector (August 7, 2006)

PANalytical has announced the release of the new PIXcel X-ray detector, which has more than 65,000 pixels, each 55 x 55 microns in size.  Every pixel has individual readout circuitry giving a dynamic range of more than 25 million counts per second per pixel row.  The use of beam attenuators is no longer necessary.  The new detector can also be positioned behind conventional point detector optics.  When used with a monochromator, it provides diffraction patterns with the best peak to background ratio for challenging materials.  PIXcel is the result of PANalytical's collaboration with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and other leading research institutes across Europe involved in the Medipix2 project.  For further information, Phone: +31-546-534444, Fax: +31-546-534592, info@panalytical.com, http://www.panalytical.com/

Incoatec and Bruker AXS announce a novel microfocus X-ray source (August 7, 2006)

At the 23rd European Crystallographic Meeting, Incoatec GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, a manufacturer of X-ray optics, and Bruker AXS Inc., launched their novel IμS X-ray microfocus source, incorporating a 30 W micro-focus sealed tube together with high-performance Montel multilayer X-ray optics.  For further information, contact Michael Willett, Investor Relations Officer, Phone: +1-978-663-3660, ext. 1411, ir@bruker-biosciences.com, http://www.bruker-axs.de/

Oxford releases two new X-ray detectors for microanalysis (July 31, 2006)

Oxford Instruments has announced the release of new two detectors, INCAPentaFET-x3 and INCAx-act.  INCAPentaFET-x3 is a new Si(Li) detector, which has a 30mm² detecting crystal, with the same resolution as a traditional 10mm².  INCAx-act is an analytical drift detector, which combines the speed of silicon drift detector technology with the precision and accuracy of an external FET and digital pulse processing.  For further information, contact Oxford Instruments Corporate Communications Manager, Lynn Sherherd, lynn.shepherd@oxinst.co.uk, http://www.oxford-instruments.com/wps/wcm/connect/Oxford+Instruments/Internet/Home/

Micro focus X-ray source jointly developed by PANalytical and Rigaku (July 22, 2006)

PANalytical B.V., a member of Spectris Plc, and Rigaku Innovative Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Rigaku Americas Corporation, have announced the introduction of a 20 μm focus X-ray source.  The product was first shown at the 2006 meeting of the American Crystallographic Association July 22 -27 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  This new source is a stand-alone system, consisting of a sealed micro focus tube and generator from PANalytical, factory integrated and tested with a high performance X-ray optic designed and manufactured by Rigaku.  The jointly developed X-ray source will be branded by the two companies separately, and integrated into their respective lines of analytical X-ray products.  For further information, Phone: +31-546-534444, Fax: +31-546-534592, info@panalytical.com, http://www.panalytical.com, or contact Catherine Klein, Senior Vice President, Rigaku Americas Corporation, Phone +1-281-363-1033 Ex124, Catherine.Klein@Rigaku.com, http://www.rigakumsc.com/

Bruker AXS acquires Quantron GmbH, a metals analysis company (September 8, 2006)

Bruker AXS Inc. has announced the acquisition of Quantron GmbH, located in Kleve, Germany.  Quantron was established in June 2002 and develops, manufactures and distributes worldwide advanced arc/spark optical emission spectroscopy (OES) systems.  The arc/spark OES market has been expanding significantly in recent years, and Quantron has grown very rapidly.  After the acquisition, Bruker-Quantron GmbH will remain and expand in its Kleve location in order to provide leading stationary and mobile OES systems. Bruker AXS will contribute its global distribution, demonstration and service capabilities, as well as R&D and operating management assistance, to further accelerate the growth and profitability of Bruker-Quantron.  For further information, contact Michael Willett, Investor Relations Officer, Phone: +1-978-663-3660, ext. 1411, ir@bruker-biosciences.com, http://www.bruker-axs.de/

Bede and IMEC collaborate on process control of new materials used at 45nm nodes and below (August 25, 2006)

Bede X-ray Metrology has announced that it has entered into a collaboration with IMEC, a research centre in nanoelectronics and nanotechnology, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, to investigate the use of X-ray metrology in the process control of new semiconductor materials used at the 45 nm technology node and below.  For further information, visit http://www.bede.co.uk
　

Innov-X and A.P. Moller-Maersk in joint venture for vessel-based, real time oil, additive and fuel analysis (August 20, 2006)

Innov-X has announced a joint venture with the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group to supply XRF systems for on-board analysis of lubricants, fuels and related fluids.  The Maersk fleet currently consists of over 1,000 vessels.  The XRF analyzers are available in two versions, one for wear metals, sulfur content and blending applications, and the other for catalytic fines or “catfines” (Si + Al) in residual fuels down to detection levels of 10 ppm typically.  Both versions are certified for marine use by Det Norske Veritas (DNV).  For more details, contact Carrie-Ann Doucette, Marketing Specialist at Innov-X Systems, Phone +1-781-938-5005, CDoucette@innov-xsys.com, or oil@innov-xsys.com, http://www.innov-xsys.com

Bruker AXS acquires KeyMaster Technologies (July 20, 2006)

Bruker AXS Inc. has announced the acquisition of all of the shares of KeyMaster Technologies Inc., located in Kennewick, Washington, which develops and manufactures portable hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) systems.  As a new Bruker AXS subsidiary, KeyMaster will remain in its current location, and will continue under its current name and management team in order to provide leading hand-held XRF systems and cutting-edge, miniaturized, lightweight X-ray technologies both to KeyMaster's present OEM customers, as well as to Bruker AXS.  For further information, contact Michael Willett, Investor Relations Officer, Phone: +1-978-663-3660, ext. 1411, ir@bruker-biosciences.com, http://www.bruker-axs.de/

SpectroscopyNow.com

For additional news about X-ray analysis and other spectroscopy sciences, browse the Wiley website.

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/