2009 R&D 100 Winner
According to its developers at Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Ill., and Xradia Inc., Concord, Calif., the Hard X-Ray Nanoprobe (HXN) represents the first of what is expected to be a new class of high-performance hard x-ray microscopes. It is, so far, the only x-ray microscope to characterize complex materials at a spatial resolution of 30 nm with sub-attogram sensitivity and sub-nanosecond time resolution. The integration of four different x-ray contrast mechanisms allows HXN to perform in situ characterization of complex materials in a single experiment. These four techniques include: x-ray fluorescence, x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and full-field x-ray transmission imaging, which allows mapping of an object in terms of variations in materials, density, and geometry (such as thickness) by using phase and absorption contrast. Optimization for coherent diffraction also allows materials and device characterization with previously unavailable sensitivity to intrinsic materials properties. Using the available techniques, the HXN can also perform crystallographic phase determination, crystallographic texture mapping, and speckle interferometry.
Technology
X-ray microscope
Developers
Argonne National Laboratory
Xradia Inc.
