Development of a low-energy X-ray fluorescence system combined with X-ray microscopy

Abstract

A system for Low Energy X-ray Fluorescence (LEXRF) has been implemented in the TwinMic [1] microscope station operating at Elettra synchrotron facility. The integrated LEXRF is coupled with the STXM operation mode. This allows simultaneous collection of XRF maps, brightfield images and phase contrast images [2], providing complementary information about the sample's chemical specificity and morphology with high spatial resolution. The system is based on a modular setup of multiple Be windowless Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs), read-out by a custom designed fast multichannel acquisition system [3]. The number of the SDDs (up-to 8 detectors) will be increased in the future in order to minimize the XRF acquisition time (higher count rate and solid angle) and to increase the XRF detection limits, therefore allowing us to acquire XRF maps with sub-micron spatial resolution.