27
Mr.
David Ohara, Principal Investigator,
Mr.
David Ohara, Business Official,
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG02-02ER83545
Amount:
$547,624
This
project will develop technology for a new type of x-ray spectrometer, suitable
for Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) used in materials science research, that
combines the ease of use of Energy Dispersive Spectrometers (EDS) with the
energy resolution and Peak-to-Background (P/B) of Wavelength Dispersive
Spectrometers (WDS). The system
would scan very rapidly, produce very high count rates at low electron beam
currents, have very good P/B, have 5-20 eV resolution, have the ability to
employ “Intelligent Scanning” strategies, and fit on most ports of SEMs.
A key requirement for this system is the development of x-ray collimation
optics to allow extension to sufficiently high energy. Along
with the new collimation optics, the mechanism and software for a Parallel Beam
Wavelength Dispersive Spectrometer also will be developed.
Phase I developed software to enable the design of the Phase II
collimation optics. A new
diffractor, which will be used in Phase II, was investigated and found to
produce high count rates for higher x-ray energies.
An interim optic to test the fabrication techniques of Phase II was
produced and tested. Phase II will
produce and test the new extended range collimation optics, fabricate a new fast
scanning spectrometer, develop “Intelligent Scanning” software and new
diffractor technology for the spectrometer, and produce new x-ray detector
technology.
Commercial Applications and Other
Benefits
as described by awardee: Potential
applications include any elemental analysis where spatial resolution less than
100 microns is desired, e.g., detection of impurities in a plutonium matrix by a
national lab, analysis of micro-paint and-glass samples by crime labs, analysis
of small samples by an art institute, analysis of geological samples by a
geophysical institute, measurement of the thickness of layers on silicon wafers,
automated analysis of semiconductor defects, metallurgical analysis, analysis of
MEMS parts, and optical coating
analysis.