As of May 26, 2007

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

X-ray reveals that metal-free carbon could become magnetic at room temperature (May 3, 2007)

For many years, the existence of magnetic carbon has remained an enigma.  Previous claims to have solved the mystery were subsequently disproved when it was found that magnetic metals like iron, nickel, etc, were probably present in the carbon samples. Recently,  Dr. Ohldag (Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory) and his colleagues have shown that pure carbon can be made permanently magnetic at room temperature after carrying out a series of careful measurements including scanning transmission X-ray microscopy, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD), PIXE analysis (to check for contamination by magnetic metals), AFM, and MFM etc. The team found that the magnetic order originates only from the carbon p-electron system. For more information, see the paper, p-Electron Ferromagnetism in Metal-Free Carbon Probed by Soft X-Ray Dichroism", H. Ohldag et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 98,187204 (2007).

Coherent X-ray speckle pattern of antiferromagnets: First results (May 3, 2007)

Recently, some very interesting research on magnetic noise from antiferromagnets has been published. Unlike ferromagnets, the characteristics of which have been studied for many years, antiferromagnets have remained a mystery because their internal structure was too fine to be measured.  Their internal order is on the same scale as the wavelength of X-rays, and therefore, X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, which measures 'speckle' patterns, can give a unique ‘fingerprint’ of a particular magnetic domain configuration.  It was found that the domain wall motion is thermally activated at temperatures above 100 K, but not so at lower temperatures.  For more information, see the paper, "Direct measurement of antiferromagnetic domain fluctuations", O. G. Shpyrko, et al., Nature 447, 68 (2007).
　

Towards attosecond - observation of electron tunnelling (April 5, 2007)

Atoms become ions when exposed to extremely intense light.  The process is predicted to occur via tunnelling through the binding potential that is suppressed by the light field near the peaks of its oscillations.  Professor F. Krausz (Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany) and his collaborators recently reported the real-time observation of this most elementary step in strong-field interactions, i.e., light-induced electron tunnelling.  The team used 250-attosecond pulses of UV radiation, and confirmed theoretical predictions about the tunneling process.  It was also found that the process lasted for several hundred attoseconds, depleting atomic-bound states.  This would suggest that the use of tunneling itself is feasible for probing short-lived, transient states of atoms or molecules, e.g., multi-electron excitation (shake-up) and relaxation (cascaded Auger decay) processes etc.  For more information, see the paper, "Attosecond real-time observation of electron tunnelling in atoms", M. Uiberacker et al., Nature, 446, 627 (2007).
　

Obituary - Theodore H. Maiman (May 5, 2007)

Theodore H. Maiman, the American physicist who made the first working laser, died on March 5, 2007 at the age of 79 from systemic mastocytosis in Vancouver, Canada, where he lived with his wife.  Maiman's laser, based on a synthetic ruby crystal grown by Dr. Ralph L. Hutcheson, was first operated on 16 May 1960 at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California. It is well-known that this breakthrough was based on the idea of employing artificial rubies as the active medium for the laser at a time when others were trying only various gases.  Dr. Maiman would have been aware of errors in their calculations.  Another key point is that he also used pulses of light to excite atoms in the ruby.  This was the ground-breaking first step to the modern pulse laser.  Although his paper on this wonderful discovery was unfortunately mistakenly rejected by Physical Review Letters, the shortened version was published in Nature (“Stimulated Optical Radiation in Ruby”, T. H. Maiman, Nature, 187, 493 (1960)).  Dr. Maiman received the Japan Prize in 1987.  He is the author of a book entitled “The Laser Odyssey” (Laser Press, 2000). The New York Times (May 11, 2007) carries an obituary written by Douglas Martin.
　

Nanocenter opened at Brookhaven National Laboratory (May 1, 2007)

The Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) has opened at Brookhaven National Laboratory, United States.  The CFN is dedicated to the fabrication and study of nanoscale materials, with an emphasis on atomic-level tailoring to achieve desired properties and functions.  The science at the CFN is organized around three scientific themes; (i) nanocatalysis, (ii) biological and soft nanomaterials, and (iii) electronic nanomaterials.  The official opening ceremony will be held on May 21.  For more information, visit http://www.bnl.gov/cfn/
　

First set of experiments at SOLEIL (March 22, 2007)

Recently, at the new French synchrotron facility, SOLEIL, the first experimental results have been obtained in spite of the technically difficult situation that is still preventing the beamline from functioning under normal operating conditions.  The absorption spectroscopic experiments were done on a kidney stone, which is an agglomerate of many different nanometer-scale crystalline materials.  For more information on the recent status of SOLEIL, visit http://www.synchrotron-soleil.fr/
　

2007 Benjamin Franklin Medal (March 12, 2007)

The 2007 Benjamin Franklin Medals recipients have been announced as follows; Chemistry, Klaus Biemann (Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Earth and Environmental Science, Steven W. Squyres (Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University), Electrical Engineering, Robert H. Dennard (IBM Fellow, Silicon Technology Department, IBM Research Division), Life Science, Nancy S. Wexler (Higgins Professor of Neuropsychology, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University), Materials Engineering, Merton C. Flemings (Director, Lemelson Program-MIT Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Physics, Yoji Totsuka (Former Director-General High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Japan), and Arthur McDonald (Director, Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Institute, Queen's University, Canada).  For more information on Benjamin Franklin Medals, visit http://www.fi.edu/tfi/exhibits/bower/
　

Shimadzu releases SMX-3000micro - an X-ray inspection system with a flat-panel detector (May 9, 2007)

Shimazu has announced the release of the SMX-3000micro, an X-ray inspection system suitable for the auto industry, equipped with a 130 kV micro focus X-ray source and a flat-panel detector.  It costs 19,600,000 JPY.  For further information, Phone: +81-3-3219-5641, Fax: +81-3-3219-5710, imdsci05@shimadzu.co.jp
　

Agilent unveils in-line 3D X-ray inspection system (April 23, 2007)

Agilent Technologies Inc. has announced the release of the Agilent Medalist x6000, a new in-line 3D X-ray inspection system for the detection of printed circuit board assembly solder and manufacturing assembly defects.  Throughput has been improved to almost double that of the previous machine.  Product photos are available at http://www.agilent.com/find/x6000_images.  For further information, contact Janet Smith, Phone: +1-970-679-5397, janet_smith@agilent.com
　

JEOL releases JSX-3100RII - an energy-dispersive XRF analyzer with liquid nitrogen-free system (April 23, 2007)

JEOL Ltd. has announced the release of the JSX-3100RII as a successor to the JSX-3100R, an energy-dispersive XRF analyzer distributed as a solution for screening materials in order to meet the RoHS Directive.  The main advantage of the JSX-3100RII is its electronic cooling system, which means that liquid nitrogen is no longer required.  The new product costs 12,300,000 JPY.  For further information, contact JEOL Ltd., 1-2, Musashino 3-chome Akishima, Tokyo 196-8558, Japan, Phone: +81-42-543-1111, Fax +81-42-546-3353, http://www.jeol.com
　

Rigaku announces ultra-bright microfocus X-ray source for structural biology (March 28, 2007)

Rigaku Americas Corporation has announced the introduction of the Rigaku FR-E+ SuperBright^TM, a microfocus rotating anode X-ray source for structural biology.  The focus size is 70μm×70μm, and the flux intensity is 1.6×10¹¹ photons/mm²/sec, almost twice that of rival instruments. The X-ray source is particularly suitable for the tiny crystals typically encountered in current structural biology research. For high-throughput phasing applications, several dual wavelength configurations, including a Cu/Cr configuration, are available.  Other technical details can be found at http://www.rigaku.com/generators/fre-plus.html  For further information, contact Joseph D. Ferrara, Phone:+1- 281-362-2300, joseph.ferrara@rigaku.com
　

CANBERRA subsidiary opens in Sweden (May 1, 2007)

CANBERRA has announced the creation of a subsidiary in Sweden, by integrating the former Laborel employees and Uppsala premises in the new company.  For further information, contact the CANBERRA Sweden team, Kungsgatan 107 - SE-753 18 Uppsala, Sweden, Phone: +46 18 14 83 00, Fax : +46 18 14 83 01, info.se@canberra.com
　

Oxford Instruments receives Queen’s Award (April 21, 2007)

Oxford Instruments has been awarded The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the development of INCADryCool, a liquid nitrogen-free EDS X-ray detector.  Technical details of INCADryCool are available at the following Web page, http://www.oxford-instruments.co.uk/wps/wcm/resources/file/ebf5250f4189310/INCADryCool_brochure.pdf
For more information, contact Lynn Shepherd, Corporate Communications Manager, lynn.shepherd@oxinst.co.uk, http://www.oxford-instruments.co.uk/
　

Willis and Duncan XRF course moves to PANalytical (April 19, 2007)

PANalytical has acquired the rights to the renowned 'Willis & Duncan' course, a long-established  education and training program for advanced X-ray fluorescence analysis.  This famous course has been organized by Professors James Willis and Andy Duncan since 1974 at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.  For further information, Phone: +31-546-534444, Fax: +31-546-534592, info@panalytical.com, http://www.panalytical.com
　

XOS to directly market SINDIE bench-top analyzer in America (March 27, 2007)

XOS has announced changes to the sales and distribution, in North and South America, of its SINDIE line of bench-top sulfur analyzers for the petroleum industry.  Until now, these analyzers have been distributed by Horiba Instruments Inc.  For further information, contact XOS Sales Inquiries, 15 Tech Valley Drive, East Greenbush, NY 12061, Phone: +1-518-880-1501, sales@xos.com, http://www.xos.com
　

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/

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