MEDSI2025 - 13th International Conference on Mechanical Engineering Design of Synchrotron Radiation Equipment and Instrumentation

Introduction of a new XRF microprobe at the Australian Synchrotron

TUP38

16 Sept 2025, 17:00

1h 15m

Poster Session Room (The Loop)

Poster Presentation End Stations Poster Session 1

Speaker

Benjamin Pocock (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation)

Description

Scanning X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microprobes (µProbe) provide element-specific, spatial associations between elements within heterogeneous, structured, and dynamic systems. A new scanning X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microprobe (µMEX) has been commissioned at the Medium Energy X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy beamline (MEX1) of the Australian Synchrotron. This offers X-ray microspectroscopy (µXANES) capabilities with a scan range of 100 x 100 mm, throughout an energy range of ~2.1 – 13.6 keV and with a spatial resolution or 3 – 20 µm which is unique within the facility and uncommon worldwide. In early 2025, the µMEX successfully recorded its first sulphur µXANES (S K-edge, 2.472 keV) from a 2.5 µm-thick, thin-section of an individual wool fibre ~35 µm in diameter. The low available flux at this bending magnet beamline coupled with the low energies (and corresponding low transmissivity) create significant engineering and optimisation challenges. Similarly, the broad selection of elements available to study, range of supported sample geometry and tight spatial constraints add to the design complexity.