An environmental sample chamber for reliable scanning transmission x-ray microscopy measurements under water vapor
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
- William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352 (United States)
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
We have designed, fabricated, and tested a compact gas-phase reactor for performing in situ soft x-ray scanning transmission x-ray microscopy (STXM) measurements. The reactor mounts directly to the existing sample holder used in the majority of STXM instruments around the world and installs with minimal instrument reconfiguration. The reactor accommodates many gas atmospheres, but was designed specifically to address the needs of measurements under water vapor. An on-board sensor measures the relative humidity and temperature inside the reactor, minimizing uncertainties associated with measuring these quantities outside the instrument. The reactor reduces x-ray absorption from the process gas by over 85% compared to analogous experiments with the entire STXM instrument filled with process gas. Reduced absorption by the process gas allows data collection at full instrumental resolution, minimizes radiation dose to the sample, and results in much more stable imaging conditions. The reactor is in use at the STXM instruments at beamlines 11.0.2 and 5.3.2.2 at the Advanced Light Source.
- OSTI ID:
- 22220557
- Journal Information:
- Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 84, Issue 7; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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