Development of a Short Wavelength Spectroscopic X-ray Microscope for Advanced Materials Research and Student Training

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

0076357 Cyrus This is an instrument development award from the Instrumentation for Materials Research program to the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). Investigators at UCSB will develop a scanning microprobe short wavelength (3.1 A - 0.31 A, photon energy 4 keV - 40 keV ) x-ray microscope capable of multiple imaging modes with 50 nm - 500 nm spatial resolution at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). The microscope will allow co-localized determination of elemental distribution and chemical states by x-ray fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy. Using a combination of K and L shell fluorescence, it will be possible to map the spatial distribution of all elements in the periodic table with detection sensitivity approaching parts-per-billion (ppb), surpassing by orders of magnitude the current level set by charged-particle microprobes. Spectroscopic micro-imaging will be accomplished by spatially resolved X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) measurements, which provide definitive information on the local oxidation states of heavy metallo-ions vitally important in many biological (e.g. cellular development) and environmental (e.g. contaminated soil remediation) studies. The microscope will be constructed at UCSB and installed at the APS accessible by the broader user community through the 25% of total beam time allocated to general users. At a later stage, a second generation microscope will be installed at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. This instrument development provides excellent opportunities for the training of graduate and undergraduate students. The project will also contribute to enriching of science education for local K-12, and community college. ***