Make X-ray microscopy 10 times faster – ScienceDaily

Scientists from the National Light Source Synchrotron II (NSLS-II) – a US Department of Energy (US) Science Office user facility of the Brookhaven National Laboratory of the Department of Energy. Energy – have developed a TXM capable of analyzing samples ten times as fast as possible. Their research is published in Applied Physics Letters.

"We have dramatically improved the speed of X-ray microscopy experiments," said Wah-Keat Lee, principal investigator at the NSLS-II full-field X-ray Imaging (FXI) line, where the microscope was built. At FXI, Lee and colleagues have reduced the time required for a TXM image to shoot 3D samples by more than 10 minutes, while producing images with exceptional 3D resolution – less than 50 nanometers, or 50 billion times. one meter. "This breakthrough will allow scientists to visualize their samples much faster at FXI than on similar instruments around the world," Lee said.

In addition to reducing the time required to complete an experiment, a faster TXM can collect more valuable data from samples.

"The holy grail of almost all imaging techniques is to be able to visualize a sample in 3D and in real time," Lee said. "The speed of these experiments is relevant because we want to observe the changes that are happening rapidly, and many structural and chemical changes occur at different time scales, so a faster instrument can see much more." For example, we can track how corrosion occurs in a material or how far the different parts of a battery work. "

To offer these features to FXI, the team had to create a TXM using the latest developments in nano-positioning ultra-fast (method of moving a sample while limiting vibrations), detection (method tracking of the movement of a sample) and control. The new microscope was developed internally at Brookhaven's laboratory through collaboration between engineers, beamline staff and NSLS-II research and development teams.

The researchers said the development of ultra-fast capabilities at FXI also depended on the advanced design of NSLS-II.

"Our ability to produce FXI more than 10 times faster than any other instrument in the world is also due to the powerful X-ray source of NSLS-II," said Lee. "At NSLS-II, we have devices called damping inverters, which are used to make very small electron beams for the installation, but luckily for us, these devices also produce a very large number of X-rays. amount of these powerful x-ray rays is directly related to the speed of our experiments. "

Using the new features of FXI, researchers analyzed the growth of silver dendrites on a copper slice. In one minute, the light line captured 1060 2D images of the sample and reconstructed them to form a 3D snapshot of the reaction. By repeating this, the researchers were able to form a 3D animation at the minute close to the chemical reaction.

"We chose to image this reaction as it demonstrates the power of FXI," said Mingyuan Ge, lead author of the research and scientist at NSLS-II. "The reaction is well known, but it has never been visualized in 3D with such a fast acquisition time.In addition, our spatial resolution is 30 to 50 times finer than the optical microscopy used in the past."

With the completion of this research, FXI began its general user operations, inviting researchers around the world to utilize the advanced features of the light line.