X-RAY SOURCE ENHANCEMENT FOR ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTATION

ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTATION BASED ON X-RAY FLUORESCENCE EXCITATION AND DIFFRACTION ARE VITAL COMPONENTS OF BOTH INDUSTRIAL PROCESS CONTROL/QUALITY ASSURANCE LABORATORIES AND MATERIALS RESEARCH FACILITIES. THE APPLICATION OF THESETECHNIQUES FOR THE INSPECTION OF MICROSCOPIC AREAS IS INCREASINGLY MORE IMPORTANT AS NEW STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRONICCOMPONENTS ARE ENGINEERED ON THE MICRON SCALE. ARACOR PROPOSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MICROFOCUS OPTIC, BASED ON AN INNOVATIVE LAYERED SYNTHETIC MICROSTRUCTURE (LSM) FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY, WHICH CAN BE BUILT INTO OR RETROFITTED TO LABORATORY-SCALE X-RAY TUBE SOURCES. THESE OPTICS PROMISE NEARLY TWO ORDERS-OF-MAGNITUDE INCREASE IN EFFECTIVE SOURCE INTENSITY. A SUCCESSFUL PHASE 1 EFFORT WILL EXPERIMENTALLY DEMONSTRATE PROOF-OF-FEASIBILITY FOR THEPROPOSED LSM OPTIC CONCEPT.