Micro-XRF

Research Must Go On

Rudolf Krentik, Sales Manager – Central and Eastern Europe, EDAX

It has been some time since I started working at EDAX as an Area Sales Manager for Central and Eastern Europe. When I think about it, Russia is by far the largest region compared to all the others. If sales grew linearly with the size of the area, I would probably be a millionaire. Unfortunately, it is not the case. The primary purpose of my work is to take care of our distributors and business partners in individual countries. I give them support in business cases, provide up-to-date information about our products, and sometimes I am also an intermediary for the serious requirements of our end customers. The work is very interesting, especially because I meet interesting people. EDAX’s customers are primarily scientists and engineers studying materials, solving complex problems, and dealing with development and innovation. Such meetings are often very fun, inspiring, and rewarding.

My new office

Figure 1. My new office.

The market situation has changed dramatically since 2015, when I started. COVID-19 has completely changed the way we work. Instead of meeting customers at scientific conferences, we all locked ourselves in our homes for a long time. After three months, I couldn’t stand it and rented a small office so that I wouldn’t go crazy at my home office with my wife and two small children, who were also schooling and working from home. So I was moving from my home office to an actual office, doing just the opposite of what others were doing during the pandemic.

Moving from real life to the online world was probably frustrating for many of us. Still, we had to adapt and start selling and communicating over the phone and especially over the internet. Online presentations and meetings are still the order of the day. This way of communication will be maintained in the future, that is quite certain. Unfortunately, this does not replace personal contact, which is essential for creating a relationship with customers. It can already be seen that interest in virtual conferences is declining. People are inherently interactive and need to share their needs and feelings with each other. This is not possible in the world of the internet. Therefore, we all hope that everything will return to normal soon. Our service technicians have been traveling to places where it is safe for quite a long time, and we salespeople are also starting to plan our first trips abroad. I’m actually partly writing this blog in Turkey on my first trip in 18 months.

Although it does not seem so, COVID has not yet caused significant losses or loss of orders in terms of business results. Our business is still in good condition. One of the factors that affects this is the life cycle of a business case. This can take months or even years. If we do not soon return to the life we are used to; it will have very negative consequences for our field. I mention this because we are currently at the stage where we want to launch several exciting products. You probably know that Gatan also belongs to our AMETEK family. The company is known for its leading technology in detection systems in TEM and SEM and other devices, e.g., for sample preparation. The acquisition of Gatan is a great benefit not only for AMETEK but also for EDAX. The combination of know-how, development, and experience in the electron microscopy field creates space for innovation and synergies that would not be possible.

Several novelties were introduced three weeks ago at M&M 2021. It is worth mentioning the EDAX EDS Powered by Gatan, in which EDAX hardware is now integrated into the software from Gatan. This brings many benefits, such as a unified GUI for all the TEM techniques available from Gatan. EDS analysis with Elite T can now be performed seamlessly with Gatan EELS, 4D STEM (STEMx), or other techniques. This makes it all much easier and faster. And as we know, time is money, and this is doubly true for time spent at the TEM.

Another interesting novelty is the cooperation of EDS and CL detectors. Thanks to an EDS-compatible cathodoluminescence (CL) mirror that enables line of sight from the sample to the EDS detector while still collecting the CL signal, we can obtain information about the material’s structure that was previously difficult to achieve.

When it comes to EBSD, EDAX has been the leading provider of this technique since the 90s. But for reliable analysis, one needs a high-quality sample preparation tool. Again, with the Gatan PECS II, we can offer a complete workflow from getting the sample ready to post-processing of acquired data. The latest news is also the hottest news. With the help of the highly sensitive OnPoint BSE and Octane Elite EDS Detectors, it is possible to detect lithium for the first time and quantify it. Unique technology, the accuracy of which is verified by another method, is now available and we are very anxious to introduce this product to our customers.

That is why we need to get the COVID-19 pandemic under control. Without the opportunity to travel and meet our customers, our work will be inefficient and not as much fun. However, the newly introduced devices and the ongoing development of the EDAX-Gatan collaboration gives us a strong hope that everything is on track and that our efforts are worthwhile.

A New Light on Leonardo

Sue Arnell, Marcom Manager, EDAX

I recently spent 10 days’ vacation back in the UK, but my visit “home” turned into somewhat of a busman’s holiday when I visited the current exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery in London: LEONARDO DA VINCI: A LIFE IN DRAWING. While all the drawings were very interesting, one particular poster particularly caught my eye.

Figure 1: Poster showing the use of X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis on one of the drawings in the exhibition.

It may be hard to see in this small image, but the drawing in the bottom left corner of the poster showed two horses’ heads, while the rest of the sheet showed very indistinct lines. When viewed under ultraviolet light, however, it is clear that there were an additional two horses depicted on the same page.

Figure 2: Drawing of horses seen under ultraviolet light

A video on the exhibit site shows a similar result with a second page:

Figure 3: Hand study seen in daylight

Figure 4: Hand study seen under ultraviolet light

According to the poster, researchers* at the Diamond Light Source at Harwell in Oxfordshire used X-ray fluorescence, which is non-destructive and would not therefore harm the priceless drawing, to explain the phenomenon in the first drawing of the horses. Scanning a small part of the drawing to analyze individual metalpoint lines, they were able to extract the spectrum in Figure 5.

Figure 5: the results of XRF analysis on the drawing showing the presence of copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn) in the almost invisible lines and almost no silver (Ag).

The conclusion was that Leonardo must have used a metalpoint based on a Cu/Zn alloy and that these metals have reacted over time to produce salts and render the lines almost invisible in daylight. However, under ultraviolet light, the full impact of the original drawings is still visible.

When I shared this analysis back in the EDAX office in Mahwah, NJ, Dr. Patrick Camus (Director of Engineering) had a few additional (more scientific) observations.

  • XRF may be useful in determining the fading mechanism by looking for elements associated with environmental factors such as Cl, (from possible contact with human fingertips), or S in the atmosphere from burning coal over the centuries. It may be related to exposure to sunlight as well.
  • The use of ultraviolet light as an incoming beam has a similar reaction but slightly different with the material as the x-rays producing emissions at much smaller energy level. This process is called photoluminescence. The incoming beam excites valence electrons across an energy gap in the material to a higher energy level which during relaxation to the base energy releases a photon. The energy of these photons is typically 1-10 eV or much less than x-ray detectors can sense. Interestingly, this excitation does not occur in conductors/metals, thus proving more evidence of the picture material being a band-gap or insulating material like a salt.
  • This example shows that a single technique does not always provide a complete picture of the structure or composition of a sample, but the use of multiple techniques can provide information greater than the sum of the individual contributions.

From my point of view, I have been trying to explain, promote and market the EDAX products and analysis techniques for over eight years now, so it was very interesting to see the value of some of ‘our’ applications in a real-world situation.

* Dr. Konstantin Ignatyev, Dr. Giannantonio, Dr. Stephen Parry

Visas, Border Crossings and Beers; Oh My!

Dr. Bruce Scruggs, Product Manager XRF, EDAX

It’s been a successful and busy year for EDAX’s XRF product lines and business. And with that, there’s a lot of traveling. I’m in the midst of filing a work visa application for a colleague and have determined that my absolute favorite work visa application as a US citizen is to Malaysia. It’s even more painful than having a snippy conversation with a Canadian border agent at the Montreal airport after flying back from Taiwan. (By the way, beer in Taiwan is light and forgettable.)

I’m going to go on about the Malaysian visa, but let’s just take a short diversion to this Canadian border agent. I was supposed to transit through Montreal airport but I missed my connecting flight. The airline was going to put me up for the night at a hotel near the airport. I had already filled out the purpose of my trip as “Business” on my Canadian landing card. I was returning from a business trip after all and there was no option for “Transit” as any sensible landing card would have. It wouldn’t have mattered a lick to the Canadian border agent monitoring the Transit Desk because I wasn’t going to Canada. I would have been transiting through Canada. But, instead, I was standing in front of the border agent controlling the mighty turnstile to Canada and my landing card said the purpose of my trip to Canada was “business”. I tried to explain that I wasn’t going to Canada. I was just transiting through Canada and had to stay at a local hotel overnight because of a missed flight, but the agent wasn’t having any of that. The landing card said that this was a “BUSINESS” trip and I was trying to enter “CANADA” and we needed to have a very grand discussion about the “BUSINESS” I was going to be doing in Canada. The agent was gesturing beyond the turnstile in the general direction of outside of the airport as he said “CANADA”. My voice began to rise as we went back and forth over the circumstances of our meeting at 10PM following my return flight from Taiwan. Finally, a voice in my head said “STOP! THIS IS NOT WORKING!”. Something my Mother said about kitchen condiments and flies crossed my mind. I lowered my voice. I took a deep breath. I told the agent that I had made a mistake on the card. I had missed my connecting flight home and I would have to stay at a local hotel overnight. I wouldn’t be doing any business in Canada and would be leaving in less than 14 hours. I was truly very sorry for the mistake on my landing card. “WELCOME TO CANADA!”, the agent said with another grand gesture in the direction of the airport exit. A quiet little voice in my head said “Whatever! You petty little dictator …” as I bit my lip. By the way, Canada has a lot of good beers. My favorite small breweries in Quebec include Brasserie Belgh Brasse, Microbrasserie Alchimiste, Microbrasserie Pit Caribou and Microbrasserie Charlevoix.

Anyway, back to the work visa for Malaysia. Malaysia is torture by a thousand paper cuts! All told, you need to submit a copy of your passport from front cover to back cover; a resume; a copy of your diploma; a job description; a work schedule; an employment verification letter confirming that no expenses for this person will be borne by the Malaysian Government; and an invitation letter. And don’t forget a recent passport photo. In JPG format. And make sure the diploma is provided in color. And the passport scan has to be in color, too! Oh, and the passport scan file is too large for our e-mail system. Can you upload that to Dropbox? Oh, you need to scan ALL the pages of the passport including the front and back covers. And which Malaysian consulate will you go to get the visa stamped in your passport? I hope you live around LA, DC or NYC. The staff at the DC consulate were very helpful. Otherwise you need to find a visa expeditor that will go to the Malaysian consulate for you.

Once this was all completed, I got the visa stamp – nothing says “Welcome to Malaysia” like:

But, once you get to Malaysia, one of my favorite Malaysian brewed beers is Anchor. Bon voyage!

Down Memory Lane

Sia Afshari, Global Marketing Manager, EDAX

For years I have been attending the Denver X-ray conference (DXC) and it is hard when it coincides with the Microscopy and Microanalysis Conference (M&M) as it has a few times in the past several years. It is just difficult for me to accept that the overlap is not avoidable!

My interests are twofold, marketing activities where my main responsibility lie, and technical sessions which still pique my curiosity and which are beneficial for future product development. In the past couple of years at M&M, it has been great to attend sessions devoted to the 50 year anniversaries of electron microscopy, technical evolution, and algorithms, where my colleagues have either been the subject of presentations or have given papers. I have had the fortune to meet and, in some cases, to reacquaint with some of the main contributors to the scientific advancement of electron microscopy.

Being at M&M, I have missed the final years of attendance at DXC of the “old-timers” who have retired. These are gentlemen, in the true meaning of the word, whom I have had the honor of knowing for over 30 years and who have been more than generous with their time with me. I recognize most of all their devotion and contribution in advancing x-ray analysis to where it is today. Their absence will be felt especially in the development of methodology and algorithm. As a friend, who was frustrated with the lack of availability of scientists with a deep knowledge in the field, recently put it, “these guys don’t grow on trees.”

Back at M&M this year, I listened to Frank Eggert talking about the “The P/B Method. About 50 Years a Hidden Champion”, and he brought back many memories. I recognized most of his referenced names, and the fact that they are no longer active in the industry! Looked around the room, I saw more people of the same hair color as mine (what is left). I thought about the XRF/XRD guys I used to know and who are also no longer around the industry. The old Pete Seeger song popped up in my mind with a new verse as; “where have all the algorithmic guys gone?”

One Analysis Technique – So Many Options!

Roger Kerstin, North America Sales Manager, EDAX

X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) solutions – which type of XRF instrument should I choose?

Most of the XRF systems out there are very versatile and can be used in many different applications, but they are typically suited for a specific type of analysis. Since the discovery of XRF many decades ago there have been new developments and new instruments just about every year. The term Florescence is applied to phenomena in which the absorption of radiation of a specific energy results in the re-emission of radiation of a different energy. There are two different types of detectors for XRF systems: Wavelength Dispersive (WDS) and Energy Dispersive (EDS).

In energy dispersive analysis, the fluorescent X-rays emitted by the material sample are directed into a solid-state detector which produces a “continuous” distribution of pulses, the voltages of which are proportional to the incoming photon energies. This signal is processed by a multichannel analyzer (MCA) which produces an accumulating energy spectrum that can be processed to obtain analytical data.

In wavelength dispersive analysis, the fluorescent X-rays emitted by the material sample are directed into a diffraction grating monochromator. The diffraction grating used is usually a single crystal. By varying the angle of incidence and take-off on the crystal, a single X-ray wavelength can be selected. The wavelength, and therefore the energy, obtained is given by Bragg’s law:

nλ = 2d Sinθ

In the XRF world there are many different types of instruments to choose from: large systems to small systems; high powered systems to low powered systems, floor standing systems to benchtop to portable systems.

What do I choose, where do I start?

The answer to these questions is that it really depends on the samples you are trying to measure and the performance you are trying to achieve. I really classify these instruments in 3 different categories: bulk, portable, and small spot.

Bulk XRF: This typically means that you have samples that are either powders, liquids or even solids that you need to analyze quickly. Bulk instruments have a large x-ray spot size to excite a lot of the elements fast and get a quick answer. They can be EDS or WDS instruments, benchtop or floor standing, and low or high power. The kind of analyzer will determine what you can or cannot measure. The higher the power, the lighter the elements and the lower the concentrations. The benchtops typically are lower power (50kv and lower) and are usually decent for go/no go type analysis and even everyday type of analysis when super low LOD’s are not needed, or light elements (below Na) are not of a concern. If you need lighter elements or lower LOD’s then typically you would go with a high power WDS system and these typically can go up to 4kw of power and have a vacuum chamber or He environment .

Portable XRF: This is just what is says – portable. These analyzers are typically used for sorting metals, in the geological field, or anything that you can’t just bring to the lab. The performance of these have come a long way and they are a critical tool for many industries. They tend to have a larger spot size but since they are portable they must be light to carry around all day. They are typically lower power and lower current, which does not allow them to have the same type of performance as the lab type instruments but usually they are good for sorting and identifying samples. They are also very good for ancient artifacts or paintings that can’t be brought to a lab.

μXRF (Micro spot XRF): These are the instruments that have a small spot size compared to all other XRF systems and they are used in smaller sample identification or mapping of a sample. There are several different types of μXRF analyzers. Some use collimators to focus the beam (this typically loses intensity) for applications like coating thickness testing or alloy id. These are usually designed to be inexpensive and benchtop for quality control applications. They are versatile but also limited to the elements they can measure. Most of these only analyze down to Potassium as they usually do the analysis in an air environment. Then there are μXRF systems that use optics to focus the x-ray to smaller spot sizes. These are used for more in-depth analysis, and are equipped with a vacuum chamber, mapping and low LODs.

Before buying an XRF system many factors must be taken into consideration and you need to ask yourself some of the following questions to really determine the best fit for your applications.

• How big is my sample?
• Can I destroy my sample?
• What levels of detection do I need to measure?
• How many samples per day will I measure?
• Can I pull a vacuum with my sample?
• What elements do I need to measure?
• What type of flexibility do I need for multiple sample types?
• What size features or samples do I need to measure?
• How much money do I have?

As you can see there are many questions to answer and many options for XRF instruments. The more you know about what you want to measure, the better you can narrow down your search for the proper instrument.

XRF is a very powerful technique but you do need to get the proper tool for the job.
Happy hunting and good luck!

Orbis XRF Analysis of Ceramic Monoliths

Dr. Bruce Scruggs, Product Manager XRF, EDAX

Over the last several months, I’ve had a couple of opportunities to analyze a ceramic monolith. For me, this was interesting because I’ve never analyzed one of these and they have been around for a long time. Ceramic monoliths have been used for decades to support metal catalysts, providing a large surface area for reactants to interact with the catalyst. One of the most common uses is found in the automotive catalytic converter. The car’s engine exhaust passes through the catalytic converter changing environmentally polluting gases (e.g. NOx, CO and residual hydrocarbons) into more innocuous ones. (Well, they used to be more innocuous anyway until some clever person decided that CO2 emissions were problematic as well. But, I digress.) Some quick literature reading suggests there is a renewed interest in these for other areas of application besides automotive emission control.

Ceramic monolith with hexagonal channels.

Ceramic monoliths can be made from a variety of ceramics or minerals depending on the application. While it’s true in some cases that the ceramic material is inactive, there are reactions where the ceramic substrate influences the catalytic reaction. Hence, material selection is important. Application of the catalytic metals onto the monolith is another critical step which influences the overall performance of the catalyst. In one typical application process, the untreated monolith is dipped into a liquid slurry of catalytic precursors and then calcined to activate the catalyst.

Ceramic monolith with square channels assembled in an external housing.

The initial goal for Orbis micro-XRF analysis was to analyze the metal distribution within the channels of the monolith. The monoliths were cross-sectioned to expose the interior of a plane of channels and the starting question was to look at the distribution of applied metals along the length of the channels. This is easy enough to do and we can clearly see distributions as we measure from the channel entrance to the center of the channel. It’s what you would expect when dipping a narrow tube in a slurry. But, we could also see distributions across the width of the channel as well. It’s not something I immediately thought about, but it makes sense as the slurry pools in the corner of the channels where two channel walls meet. As we discussed the results we had so far, the question of quantification came up. (Questions about quantification always come up!) As we discussed quantification methodologies, I was measuring at different points within a single channel and noticed that light element signals from the substrate (e.g. MgK or AlK) were sometimes present in the spectrum and sometimes not. This was a surprising result as the belief was that the catalytic wash coat was thick enough to completely absorb these signals. So, we also learned that mass coverage of the catalyst treatment was not as heavy as expected and this also provided some valuable insight into how to go about quantifying the catalytic distributions within the monolith.

If the Orbis micro-XRF analysis can provide data on how well the catalyst is distributed throughout the monolith channel, then this could potentially enable improvements in application techniques, which in turn may lead to dramatic improvements in catalyst efficiency. Overall, I thought that wasn’t bad for a couple of hours of instrument time!