High-energy synchrotron radiation x-ray microscopy: Present status and future prospects

High-energy radiation synchrotron x-ray microscopy is used to characterize materials of importance to the chemical and materials sciences and chemical engineering. The x-ray microscope (XRM) forms images of elemental distributions fluorescent x rays or images of mass distributions by measurement of the linear attenuation coefficient of the material. Distributions of sections through materials are obtained non-destructively using the technique of computed microtomography. The energy range of the x rays used for the XRM ranges from a few keV at the minimum value to more than 100 keV, which is sufficient to excite the K-edge of all naturally occurring elements. The work in progress at the Brookhaven NSLS X26 and X17 XRM is described in order to show the current status of the XRM. While there are many possible approaches to the XRM instrumentation, this instrument gives state-of-the-art performance in most respects and serves as a reasonable example of the present status of the instrumentation in terms of the spatial resolution and minimum detection limits obtainable. The examples of applications cited give an idea of the types of research fields that are currently under investigation. They can be used to illustrate how the field of x-ray microscopy will benefit from the use of bending magnets and insertion devices at the Advanced Photon Source. 8 refs., 5 figs