Bruker AXS Microanalysis Introduces Ultra-fast EBSD System, Next-Generation 123 eV Resolution XFlash^® Silicon Drift Detectors and New Particle Analysis Software

At the Microscopy & Microanalysis 2008 Annual Meeting opening today, Bruker AXS Microanalysis introduces several new products and options for Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) based materials analysis.

The innovative new QUANTAX CrystAlign™ system for SEM-based crystallographic analysis via electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) consists of an ultra-fast EBSD detector and powerful, yet easy-to-use EBSD analysis software that is seamlessly integrated with Bruker’s EDS software, ESPRIT™. The combination of EBSD with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) offers more comprehensive materials characterization capabilities in Scanning Electron Microscopes for a broad range of applications on metals, ceramics, and geological samples.

Dr. Gert Nolze, EBSD Product Manager at Bruker AXS Microanalysis, commented: “The new Bruker CrystAlign EBSD system provides several innovative capabilities: ultra-fast acquisition rates of up to 750 patterns per second with the unique ability of scanning the sample at a constant frame rate and storing the patterns as a string of images for subsequent indexing and evaluation. This novel EBSD collection strategy allows investigation of individual patterns and re-analysis of the crystal orientation maps without repeated data acquisition.”

Bruker AXS Executive Vice President Thomas Schuelein stated: “Bruker has reached an important milestone in its microanalysis strategy, aimed at further extending the versatility and analytical power of its product lines for the micro- and nanoanalysis markets. Our novel CrystAlign system supplements the capabilities of our QUANTAX EDS system by providing powerful tools for EBSD data acquisition, interpretation and display of results, while making the EBSD technique more accessible to the general microanalysis and SEM user.”

Bruker AXS Microanalysis also presents the XFlash^® 5000 series of liquid nitrogen free XFlash^® silicon drift detectors (SDD) for use with its QUANTAX microanalysis systems. These new detectors boast even further improved energy resolutions down to 123 eV at Mn-Ka and 100,000 cps input count rate. All detectors are equipped with an optimized electron trap, which supports interference-free x-ray detection, even at very low excitation energies. The new XFlash^® 5000 family makes QUANTAX the ideal EDS X-ray system for nanoanalysis.

In addition, Bruker’s new ESPRIT Feature software package extends the capabilities of the QUANTAX EDS analysis systems for advanced particle analysis applications. ESPRIT Feature utilizes the speed of both the QUANTAX image digitizer and the XFlash EDS detector for fast particle identification and chemical classification. Among its powerful image analysis functions are configurable feature detection, and a convenient review function, as well as chart and report generation. ESPRIT Feature allows automatic unattended analysis of large samples or areas by preset methods for detection, classification and result handling.