This post is for those who might be new to sample preparation using a top-loading zero background sample holder (with a well for sample material), or for those who are looking to benchmark sample preparation practices.
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KS Analytical Systems is proud to present a new, total UPS solution for clinical and diagnostic laboratory systems, specifically designed for Bruker AXS, by NXT Power. The Integrity Max & Pro UPS is a complete power protection solution providing isolation, power conditioning, and backup protection for Bruker AXS systems. Regardless of input fluctuations, the Integrity series ensures that the output remains continuous and regulated.
The industry-leading UPS line is built to power sophisticated computer loads–systems with high inrush current and high crest factors–which eliminates oversizing and reduces operating costs. A custom design output receptacle panel and input line cord was designed specifically for Bruker AXS for faster and simpler onsite set up. These UL Listed and CE marked systems include features that are tailored to Bruker AXS requirements, such as 208 input, 230 volt output as well as 120 volt duplex (added for the attached computer to eliminate back door disturbances).
Protect your electronic systems and ensure uninterrupted uptime all day, every day. Enjoy peace of mind knowing equipment is protected from problems due to common-mode voltage, power outages, spikes & transients, and more. Below is a compatibility chart for Bruker machine models. Find out more and obtain a quote by reaching out directly to ksa@ksanalytical.com.
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it’s the lifeblood of a well-functioning analytical lab. A few days ago, Todd was preparing a water chiller for shipping and washed out some corrosion products with acetic acid. The resulting solution was left in a beaker over the weekend and when we returned, he noticed that it had formed rather large crystals. So he did what any curious person with a lab full of XRD instrumentation would do. He ground it up into a fine powder and ran it through a D4 Endeavor. The resulting pattern was definitive and made complete sense given the brass metals involved in the corrosion product and the acetic acid solution.
The data was imported into MDI Jade Pro for phase identification. Jade makes it very easy to take the analysis all the way through whole pattern fitting (WPF/Rietveld) when paired with the COD or ICDD PDF-4 databases. I generated a full report even though the data was not nearly the quality we would usually require for this type of analysis for a client.
We’ve been experimenting with better ways to quantify the quality of XRD tubes in the shop. We use these tests on new and used tubes to monitor performance in two key areas. 1) Intensity 2) Spectral purity.
What we’ve settled on is a test that involves a wavelength-dispersive approach which gives us a lot of intensity to work with while eliminating background scatter and fluorescence effects. Basically, we’re able to extract more information from the data because the “noise” is almost zero.
We used Jade Pro to evaluate the scans, but they’re not D-spacing vs intensity as one would normally expect. This scan represents Wavelength vs intensity more like one would see in a WDXRF spectrometer. Cu KA1 and 2 are obvious, as is Cu KB1. Many of the current generation of XRD users have never seen a W LA1 peak in their data, but it’s clearly visible here as this is an older tube. What I’ve never been able to see before is the W La2 peak in the green scan. You’re looking at a peak that is ~62eV separated from W La1. No XRD detector on the market has energy resolution like that so these would always be lumped together so you’d see a series of additional peaks from every d-spacing in the sample in the diffractogram. Only a handful of detectors (our SDD-150 for example) could even separate the W La from the Cu K lines. That’s the power of wavelength-dispersive techniques. Incidentally, the most common device for cleaning up superfluous energy emissions in XRD data is a diffracted-beam monochromator and they eliminate all the W La through a secondary diffraction event much like what we’re doing.
Characterizing emissions is nothing new. In fact, I started wanting to improve this after listening to a talk at DXC about Jim Cline’s famous XRD system which is used at NIST to perform the primary data collection on the CRMs we all use. To paraphrase Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “When you explain every extraneous data point, the remaining information is the pure truth of the sample”.
KS Analytical Systems now offers custom sample holders for the Bruker D2 Phaser 6-position autosampler. These can be finished to order with any depth and diameter of well or a zero-background plate (ZBH) with or without a well ground in the surface.
Another fully-rebuilt, digital autosampler out in the wild. This one is on a system that already has one of our Si-Drift Detectors and an awesome ICDD Jade Pro/PDF-4+ software package. We’ve got all the fancy new hardware at our in-house lab, but when we need the absolute best data, this is our goto configuration.
KS Analytical Systems now offers custom sample holders for Rigaku Miniflex systems. The 6-position autosamplers and rotation stages (and even some fixed stages) make use of the magnetic disk design for holding powder without taking up much extra room in the diminutive benchtop.
Energy resolution
Low angle scatter
Truly zero maintenance design
Versatility
The detector can be set for any common XRD anode (energy) easily. Multiple energies may even be configured to allow for use with various anodes without the need for additional hardware. We specialize in Siemens (now Bruker) XRD and WD-XRF instrumentation and have installation kits ready for the D500, D5000 and D5005. The output is a standard BNC cable with a 5V square pulse output which is standard across every manufacturer we’ve worked with. Kevex and Thermo Si(Li) detectors used this same output.
Please contact KS Analytical Systems for a quote.