SYNCHROTRON RESEARCH INC.
Building a Better Future
Synchrotron Research, Inc. (SRI) is a company which specializes in design and manufacturing of analytical instrumentation, instrument control systems and technical programming. Our primary products are Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) imaging spectrometers which operate on synchrotron beam line facilities. The inaugural products, the LARIAT (Large Area Rapid Imaging Analytical Tool) MKI and MKII, are currently operating at Brookhaven National Laboratory NSLS II NIST beam line.
The second generation system, the LARIAT MKII, incorporates a superconducting magnetic system and grid-less electrostatic energy filters to provide enhanced spatial resolution and improved transmission over the already highly efficient LARIAT MKI. The LARIAT MKII achieves better than 7um spatial resolution over the full 400mm2 field of view and throughput of over 700 images per hour. The first LARIAT MKII will have a permanent home at the new Brookhaven National Laboratory synchrotron facility, NSLS II, currently under construction. These spectrometers effectively measure variation in the x-ray absorption coefficient as a function of energy via partial electron yield. X-ray stimulated electrons emitted from the surface are collected in parallel from all emission angles (when no energy filtering is applied) across the entire field of view and over a high depth of field. The electrons are transmitted through the electron optics with nearly 100% efficiency to the imaging detector. The spectrometer also incorporates electrostatic retarding field elements which allow control over emission angle and analytical volume (depth dependence). See our PRODUCTS & APPLICATIONS page for data examples.
We design, manufacture and service the NEXAFS spectrometer hardware and also design the software for control and operation at the beam-line. In addition, we have a complete package for advanced data reduction to process the images containing elemental and chemical contrast. The LARIAT is a complete turn-key synchrotron analytical system enabling research in organic electronics, photovoltaics, biological patterning, environmental chemistry and a host of other surface chemistry applications. The LARIAT can also operate in VUV energy range.
Inherently, our spectrometers combine a large effective numerical aperture (large collection angle) with minimal aberration and very high transmission efficiency. The result is high throughput with high chemical sensitivity and excellent signal-to-noise. Acquisition times are ~10-12 images per minute. See our Products & Applications page for more details.
Features of the SRI LARIAT Imaging NEXAFS spectrometer :
• Magnetic projection electron imaging - electrons follow magnetic field lines to form a parallel imaging system;
• Dichroic image acquisition and data reduction allows determination of orientation of molecular species on surfaces;
• Optional NanoSpot Modality TM using insertion zone plate technology.
• Large depth of field ~1cm to image curved and recessed surfaces;
• Depth selectivity through energy filtering to produce 3D imaging;
• High throughput of ~725 images per hour;
• Nearly 100% collection efficiency;
• High pass grid energy analyzer;
• Up to 4KX4K images;