Application of synchrotron radiation excited X-ray microprobe techniques in material and environmental science

Synchrotron radiation excited X-ray microprobe techniques (-XRF/XAS, -XRD, imaging/tomography) give unique possibility for non-destructive, in situ investigation of several sample characteristics (elemental- and crystalline composition, chemical speciation, morphology) and different chemical, environmental processes within inhomogeneous samples. The ID22 X-ray microprobe beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF, Grenoble, France) offers the simultaneous use of these techniques with m spatial resolution in the 6-30 keV energy range.

Material and environmental sciences are two scientific fields often requiring the combined investigation of the elemental distribution, chemical speciation, and crystalline structure of large number of samples with (sub)-micron spatial resolution. The new developments of the ID22 beamline can readily fulfill these requirements, as will be illustrated by the presented examples. The high 1010-5x1011 ph/s intensity of the micro-beam (depending on the spot-size, energy and focusing device) allows for continuous scanning -XRF measurements of sample areas of up to 1 mm2 with 0.6-2 m spatial resolution within <10-12 hours measurement time in case of high enough characteristics X-ray line intensities. Combination of scanning -XRF with -XANES (-EXAFS) gives information about the dependence of the oxidation state/chemical speciation of a given element from the elemental composition. The achromaticity of the commonly used KB focusing mirror makes the change of the excitation energy possible in the 7-18 keV energy region without significant change of the size and position of the focused beam. Thus, XANES measurements at different absorption edges are achievable, which allow to study the correlation among chemical speciation of different elements. Correlation between the chemical characteristics and the crystalline structure of the sample can be investigated by combining these techniques with -X-ray diffraction measurements.