SBIR Phase II: Development of a Dual Energy Micro-focused X-ray Excitation Beam for Chemical Analysis and Materials Characterization

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将开发一种微焦点双能X射线激发光束传输系统，用于微X射线荧光（micro-XRF）分析。该系统的开发将满足各种学科的关键需求，以大幅提高检测灵敏度（特别是低原子序数元素），更高的空间分辨率，更好的分析精度和增加的吞吐量。该拟议项目预计将通过进一步加速该工具的快速采用来影响9亿美元的XRF市场，该工具已被用于各种研究和工业应用，包括：先进材料的开发，痕量金属的毒理学，健康和患病生物组织中的矿物分布，确定油气中特定储层的有效采油方法&，通过分析矿井废弃物来监控矿井效率，以及对半导体行业中的埋地结构和封装组件进行化学分析。目前，在微米级分辨率下实现元素组成的高空间分辨率映射，分析灵敏度在低百万分之一（ppm）水平上仅在同步加速器微XRF上是可能的，其中在世界各地仅存在有限数量的同步加速器微XRF，并且其通常被超额订购。 现有实验室微型XRF系统的性能在很大程度上受到所采用的X射线光学器件的限制-在焦点尺寸、聚焦效率和光谱响应方面。 该项目将允许开发一种创新的X射线复合镜透镜，这将使微焦点双能X射线激发光束传输系统具有对低Z和高Z元素的高分析灵敏度、大X射线通量（比领先系统好30倍）、微米级空间分辨率和大工作距离（5 cm）。 该光束传输系统将可用作扫描电子显微镜和独立微型XRF系统中的附件。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a microfocus dual energy x-ray excitation beam delivery system to be used for micro x-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) analysis. The development of this system will address critical needs in a variety of disciplines for substantially improved detection sensitivity (particularly of low atomic number elements), higher spatial resolution, better analysis accuracy, and increased throughput. The proposed project is expected to impact the $ 900 million XRF market by further accelerating the rapid adoption of this tool, which has been utilized for a variety of research and industrial applications, including: development of advanced materials, toxicology of trace metals, mapping mineral distribution in healthy and diseased biological tissues, determining efficient oil extraction methods for specific reservoirs in oil & gas, monitoring mine efficiency by analyzing mine wastes, and chemical analysis of buried structures and packaging components in the semiconductor industry. Currently, achieving high spatial resolution mapping of elemental composition at the micrometer scale resolution with analysis sensitivity in the low parts per million (ppm) levels is only possible at synchrotron micro-XRFs, of which there are only a limited number of around the world, and which are often oversubscribed. The performance of existing laboratory micro-XRF systems is largely limited - in terms of focus size, focusing efficiency, and spectral response - by the x-ray optics which are employed. The project will permit the development of an innovative x-ray compound mirror lens which will enable a microfocus dual energy x-ray excitation beam delivery system with high analytical sensitivity to both low- and high-Z elements, large x-ray flux (up to thirty-fold better than leading systems), microns-scale spatial resolution, and large working distances (5 cm). This beam delivery system will be usable as an attachment in a scanning electron microscope and in a standalone micro-XRF system.