Thermo Fisher Scientific Launches ARL 9900 Series X-ray WorkStation Integrating XRF and Full XRD in a Single Instrument

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, has made another important development in the area of X-ray analysis for industrial and central laboratories carrying out materials characterization and quality control analyses. For the first time, the new Thermo Scientific ARL 9900 Series X-ray Workstation combines full X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) into a single instrument, bringing increased productivity and reduced cost of ownership to the laboratory. It is now possible to perform a complete elemental (chemical) analysis and determine the mineral or structural composition on the same sample under vacuum with one single X-ray instrument.

Both XRF and XRD techniques are well established in the area of materials analysis. While XRF is used for routine elemental analysis in many industrial applications, XRD is mostly utilized in central laboratories for investigative purposes. Close collaboration with major industrial and research laboratories has shown that there is an increasing need for full pattern XRD in industrial laboratories alongside XRF, while research laboratories would greatly benefit from XRF capability.

The new Thermo Scientific ARL 9900 Series X-ray WorkStation fulfills this need, providing the most comprehensive analytical capability for a complete chemical and phase analysis of all kinds of materials. The elemental/oxide analysis can be accomplished by a series of XRF monochromators for high throughput, by an XRF Goniometer for flexibility or a combination of both. Full Pattern phase analysis can be achieved on the same sample by the XRD Goniometer using Thermo Scientific OXSAS software. Fully automated control analysis of any unknown material is accomplished by "standard-less" programs both in XRF and XRD. In addition, the chemical data from XRF can be used for processing the XRD data or vice versa.

Since the two techniques are fully integrated inside one instrument, it is significantly easier and more cost effective to integrate the instrument into an on-line process control and routine analysis. Automation capabilities range from simple link to automatic sample preparation machines with an interface from a central control system to the robot-based Thermo Scientific ARL SMS-3000 for a completely autonomous X-ray analysis laboratory.

The Thermo Scientific ARL 9900 Series X-ray WorkStation is designed to operate in real industrial environments with quick and easy installation, operation and validation. On-site customization of various programs is more conveniently achieved with effective control files and optimized sample preparation for both XRF and XRD.