As of May 29, 2009

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

Secondary enhancement in confocal X-ray micro fluorescence (May 22, 2009)

Confocal X-ray micro fluorescence is a method of 3D analysis, and uses the formation of confocal volume (probing microvolume) defined through the intersection of a focused excitation beam and the sensitive volume of a polycapillary lens placed in front of the detector.  Because of increasing demands, the technique has been widely used at both synchrotron and laboratory sources.  However, some essential problems in quantitative analysis have remained so far.  Dr. A-G. Karydas (Institute of Nuclear Physics, N.C.S.R. “Demokritos”, Greece) and his colleagues recently published a paper on the influence of the secondary fluorescence enhancement in this technique.  For more information, see the paper, "Secondary Fluorescence Enhancement in Confocal X-ray Microscopy Analysis", D. Sokaras et al., Anal. Chem., Article ASAP, DOI: 10.1021/ac900688n

X-ray fluorescence confirms mechanism to increase the toughness of spider silk (April 24, 2009)

Spider silk is a tough yet light material, but recently it has been found that it becomes three times stronger by adding small amounts of metal such as Zn, Ti and Al.  The idea was inspired by research which established that trace metals are frequently found in the toughest parts of some insect bodies.  Bio-materials scientists think that such metals could be incorporated in the protein structures and lead to unusual mechanical properties.  Dr. M. Knez (Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Halle, Germany) and his colleagues have succeeded in infiltrating Zn, Ti and Al by the application of atomic layer deposition technique.  X-ray fluorescence spectra provided the evidence for them.  For more information, see the paper, "Greatly Increased Toughness of Infiltrated Spider Silk", S-Mo Lee et al., Science, 324, 488-492 (2009).

Grazing-exit micro X-ray fluorescence analysis of plant (March 27, 2009)

Professor K. Tsuji (Osaka City University, Japan) and his colleagues recently reported an interesting application of grazing-exit micro X-ray fluorescence to the analysis of a leaf of Camellia hiemalis.  In their experiments, a polycapillary X-ray lens was used to observe a 30 μm area.  Grazing-exit geometry was employed to enable the observation of the near surface of the plant.  For more information, see the paper, "Grazing Exit Micro X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of a Hazardous Metal Attached to a Plant Leaf Surface Using an X-ray Absorber Method", T. Awane et al., Anal. Chem., 81, 3356-3364 (2009).
 

Nano-scale chemical imaging by STM with synchrotron X-rays (March 13, 2009)

At the Photon Factory, KEK, Japan, Dr. T. Okuda (University of Tokyo) and his colleagues have developed a new technique for determining the identity of groups of individual atoms.  Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is an existing powerful characterization method, which can detect the atomic positions in real space.  In order to upgrade the STM by giving it the capability to distinguish chemical species, the research group employed synchrotron X-rays, which excite core-level electrons in the sample’s atoms.  In this way, secondary electrons can be detected by the STM as they tunnel across the gap.  The important point here is that the tunneling current depends on the chemical species.  Accordingly, the technique provides chemical imaging.  The current spatial resolution is around 10 nm.  In the present research, Fe and Ni L absorption edges were chosen to control the core-level excitation.  The beamline used was BL-13C.  For more information, see the paper, "Nanoscale Chemical Imaging by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Assisted by Synchrotron Radiation", T. Okuda et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 105503 (2009)
 

Influence of coherent length on TXRF and XSW (March 10, 2009)

Dr. A. von Bohlen (Institute for Analytical Sciences, Germany) and his colleagues recently published an interesting paper on the analysis of nanoparticles prepared on the substrate by grazing incidence X-ray Standing Waves (XSW) and Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (TXRF).  The influence of coherence length of X-rays from different X-ray sources, the particle form, particle size and distribution are discussed.  For more information, see the paper, "The influence of X-ray coherence length on TXRF and XSW and the characterization of nanoparticles observed under grazing incidence of X-rays", A. von Bohlen et al., J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2009 (advance article)  DOI: 10.1039/b811178b

The 3rd X-ray reflectivity school in Japan (May 22, 2009)

Demand for learning analytical techniques for surfaces and interfaces appears to be on the increase.  At Tsukuba in Japan, the 3rd tutorial course on the analysis of thin films and multilayers by X-ray reflectivity was held on May 22.  The first Japanese textbook that serves as an introduction to X-ray reflectivity was published in February, and the 7 authors gave lectures as part of the course.  Further information is available at http://www.nims.go.jp/xray/ref/  (in Japanese only).
 

2009 Compton Award – S. Mochrie, M. Sutton, and G. Grubel (April 29, 2009)

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) and APS Users Organization has announced that the 2009 Arthur H. Compton Award has been presented jointly to Simon Mochrie, Mark Sutton, and Gerhard Grubel for their pioneering efforts in X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS), which exploits the coherent properties of synchrotron X-rays to study the slow dynamics of condensed matter at short length scales.  For more information on their pioneering work, see the paper, "Observation of speckle by diffraction with coherent X-rays", M. Sutton, S. G. J. Mochrie, T. Greytak, S. E. Nagler, L. E. Berman, G. A. Held, and G. B. Stephenson, Nature 352, 608-610 (1991).  Former recipients of this award are: Andrzej Joachimiak and Gerold Rosenbaum (2007); Gunter Schmahl and Janos Kirz (2005); Martin Blume, Doon Gibbs, Kazumichi Namikawa, Denis McWhan (2003); Wayne A. Hendrickson (2001); Sunil K. Sinha (2000); Donald H. Bilderback, Andreas K. Freund, Gordon S. Knapp, Dennis M. Mills (1998); Philip M. Platzman, Peter M. Eisenberger (1997); Nikolai Vinokurov, Klaus Halbach (1995).
 

First beam generated by the hard X-ray laser at Stanford (April 21, 2009)

At the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, scientists have observed the first beam generated by the hard X-ray laser.  The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) now supplies 1.5 Å wavelength coherent hard X-ray ultra short pulses with 100 femtosecond duration.  Unlike conventional lasers, which use mirrored cavities to amplify light, the LCLS is a free-electron laser, creating light using free-flying electrons in a vacuum.  The LCLS uses the final third of SLAC's two-mile linear accelerator to drive electrons to high energy and through an array of undulator magnets that steer the electrons rapidly back and forth, generating a brilliant beam of coordinated X-rays.  LCLS scientists used only 12 of an eventual 33 undulator magnets to generate the facility's first laser light.  It is the first time that an X-ray laser has operated at such short wavelengths in the truly hard X-ray region, with such brightness and short pulses.  The laser paves the way to a new way of looking at not only the structure of matter but also its dynamics.  By using laser pulses of less than 100 femtosecond duration, the dynamics of chemical reactions can be caught in process, and even single molecules can be imaged.  For further information, see the facility’s Web page, http://home.slac.stanford.edu/pressreleases/2009/20090421.htm  In Science Now Daily News, Adrian Cho wrote a comprehensive article, http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/421/2
 

Nature Materials Insight devoted to electron and X-ray microscopy (April 1, 2009)

In Issue 4, vol. 8 (2009) of Nature Materials, the Insight section features a compilation of articles on recent electron and X-ray microscopy.  The aim is to illustrate what are the most outstanding capabilities of modern imaging techniques based on electrons and X-ray photons, which have been often treated separately.  The 6 articles in the compilation are as follows: "Is science prepared for atomic-resolution electron microscopy?", Knut W. Urban (p.260-262); "Structure and bonding at the atomic scale by scanning transmission electron microscopy", David A. Muller (p.263-270); "Electron tomography and holography in materials science", Paul A. Midgley & Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski (p.271-280); "Near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure microscopy of organic and magnetic materials", Harald Ade & Herman Stoll (p.281-290); "Coherent X-ray diffraction imaging of strain at the nanoscale" Ian Robinson & Ross Harder (p.291-298); "X-ray imaging beyond the limits", Henry N. Chapman (p.299-301).  Visit the Web page to download the full Insight as PDF file (4.77MB), http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v8/n4/pdf/nmat-insight-microscopy.pdf

 

Obituary - Tomoya Arai (March 11, 2009)

Tomoya Arai, a renowned specialist in X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and an adviser to Rigaku Corporation, has died at the age of 77 in Osaka, Japan.  Dr. Arai was born in 1931 in Tokyo.  He was a student at Tokyo Metropolitan University.  Immediately after finishing school, he joined Rigaku, where he devoted his life to the development of innovative X-ray fluorescence technologies.  In 1962, Dr. Arai developed the first automatic sequential wavelength-dispersive spectrometer in Japan.  In 1967, he oversaw the commercialization of an on-line X-ray coating thickness gauge.  This was an important industrial application of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.  In 1969, Dr. Arai proposed the use of an end window Rh tube in an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer.  This innovation opened up new opportunities in light element analysis.  In 1981, he established a way of analyzing boron.  In 1998, Dr. Arai obtained a PhD from the University of Tokyo, where his supervisor was Professor Y. Nihei.  Dr. Arai was a recipient of the Birks Award at the 2004 Denver Conference.  Some of his valuable experiences have been published in scientific journals.  One interesting paper is the "Intensity and distribution of background X-rays in wavelength-dispersive spectrometry", X-Ray Spectrometry, 20, 9-22 (1991).  Dr. Arai often spoke of the need to take heed of the raw data.  Even in his later years, he never stopped looking at the raw data with his own eyes.
 

Commissioning proceeds well at Shanghai (March 2, 2009)

At the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) in China, the Hard X-ray Microfocus Beamline (BL15U1) was commissioned satisfactorily from February to March 2009.  The beamline is equipped with an in-vacuum undulator.  For further information, visit the Web page, http://ssrf.sinap.ac.cn/english/

 

Toshiba introduces new multi-detector CT systems (May 20, 2009)

Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. has introduced two advanced multi-detector CT systems, the AquilionR Premium edition and the Aquilion CX edition.  For further information, contact Charlene Jacobs, Phone +1-714-669-7811, cjacobs@tams.com
 

Bruker’s new simultaneous WDXRF spectrometer (April 29, 2009)

Bruker AXS has introduced the S8 LION simultaneous WDXRF spectrometer for process and quality control in the cement, minerals and mining industries. It can simultaneously measure up to 16 elements with a precision of 0.05% and with a time-to-result of less than 1 min.  For further information, visit the web page, http://www.bruker-axs.de/
 

Spellman’s new X-ray source offering 100 kV (March 31, 2009)

Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corporation has announced the expansion of its MonoblockR Series of X-ray Sources with the introduction of the new XRB100, which operates up to 100 kV at full power of 100 W.  The XRB100 has a stationary, tungsten anode X-ray tube, and provides a fan-shaped X-ray beam geometry.  For further information, visit the web page, http://www.spellmanhv.com


 

Xradia 3D X-ray images key for University of Texas scan of famous fossil “Lucy” (April 29, 2009)

Xradia, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of ultra-high-resolution 3D X-ray imaging systems, has announced that its scanner was used by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin in the examination of fossil Lucy, the world's most famous ancient human ancestor fossil that dates back 3.2 million years.  The company’s Xradia MicroXCT^TM scanner, a 3D X-ray computed tomography system with sub-micron resolution, was used to scan selected pieces of the fossil, and the resulting data will assist in their studies to learn how Lucy’s skeleton supported her movement and posture, and how it compares to modern humans and apes.  Lucy is currently on loan from the Ethiopian Government and on tour in the U.S. as part of a world premiere exhibit organized by the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  For further information, visit the web page, http://xradia.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/