Development of soft X-ray absorption spectroscopic equipment at atmospheric pressure using He-path with a free-standing membrane as a partition wall

We have developed a new soft X-ray absorption spectroscopic equipment that can easily and inexpensively measure volatile substance and liquids under atmospheric pressure. This apparatus uses a thin SiN free-standing membrane with a thickness of 100 nm as a pressure partition wall, and puts the sample in a container filled with He gas. Using this apparatus, it is possible to measure soft X-ray absorption spectra of free surface of samples by total electron yield (TEY) and total fluorescence yield (TFY) methods. We measured soft X-ray absorption spectra at the O-K, C-K and Ti-L-edge under atmospheric pressure for standard solid samples, highly volatile solid sample, and several types of liquid samples such as water. (author)