Photograph of the core scanning and imaging system
of the hardX-ray Nanoprobe instrument.
Xradia Delivers Hard X-ray Nanoprobe Microscope to ArgonneNational Laboratory
Concord, CA/Argonne, IL – June 22, 2007: Xradia, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of ultra-high-resolution X-ray imaging systems for 3Dtomography and nanotechnology applications, announced the delivery ofthe first hard X-ray Nanoprobe instrument (nanoPi), which has beendeveloped together with Argonne National Laboratory's Center forNanoscale Materials (CNM). The nanoPi delivers an unprecedented highresolution of better than 30 nm at hard X-ray energies for elementaland structural analysis using scanning probe and full-fieldtransmission X-ray microscopy. The nanoPi has been installed at thehard X-ray Nanoprobe Beamline (ID-26) at Argonne's Advanced PhotonSource (APS) and is one of the major characterization tools at the CNM.
High-resolutionX-ray microscopy is of growing importance for research and industrialapplications in diverse fields such as alternative energy, advancedsemiconductor development, biotechnology and life sciences, advancedmaterials and nanotechnology. The unique ability of X-rays to penetratesamples of interest non-destructively, combined with X-ray optics thatenable high-resolution focusing and imaging, gives researchers andengineers unprecedented access to knowledge about the inner structureand nature of objects. 'The nanoPi will provide X-ray characterizationat a spatial resolution of 30 nm which substantially exceeds theoptical limit,' said Dr. Eric Isaacs, Director of the CNM. 'Whenintegrated with the CNM's materials synthesis, fabrication, theory andother characterization capabilities, the nanoPi will revolutionize thedesign of materials at the nanoscale,' said Isaacs.
"Thisproject will push the state of the art in X-ray microscopy to newlevels of resolution, both in terms of X-ray optics and precisionmechanical design, and enable qualitatively new studies of phenomena atthe nanoscale unavailable up to now. " said Dr. Jörg Maser, principalresearcher at the CNM. "We are delighted to be teaming up with CNM onthis critical program," said Dr. Wenbing Yun, President and founder ofXradia. "Pushing X-ray optics to new levels of resolution, and marryingthat with advanced system design and imaging software, opens upexciting new applications in a wide range of disciplines..." said Yun.
About Xradia, Inc.
Xradia,Inc. is a privately held company established in 2000 to commercializehigh-resolution X-ray imaging and analysis instruments fornondestructive inspection, nanoscale imaging as well as elemental andstructural analysis at the nanoscale. Initially targeted at failureanalysis in the semiconductor IC industry, subsequent developments haveled to a suite of commercial X-ray imaging and analytical products thathave permitted expansion into markets that include metrology insemiconductor IC production, scientific equipment, biomedical researchand nanotechnology development.
About Argonne National Laboratory
Thenation's first national laboratory, Argonne National Laboratoryconducts basic and applied scientific research across a wide spectrumof disciplines, ranging from high-energy physics to climatology andbiotechnology. Since 1990, Argonne has worked with more than 600 companies and numerous federal agencies and other organizations to helpadvance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for thefuture. Argonne is managed by the University of Chicago for the U.S.Department of Energy's Office of Science.