A micro diffractometer for minerals research

Scientific instrument company AXT has won the bid to supply the Mawson Institute at the University of South Australia with a Rigaku D/Max Rapid II Dual Wavelength Micro X-Ray Diffractometer - claimed to be most advanced lab-based micro diffractometer in the country.

The product will help the Mawson Institute stay at the cutting edge of minerals and materials research. The institute was able to purchase the system with funding from the University of South Australia, The University of Adelaide and the ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme.

The micro diffractometer offers a number of advantageous features and capabilities. The high-intensity MM007 DW Microfocus Rotating Anode offers very good resolution, with the ability to perform XRD on areas as small as 10 µm and carry out spatially resolved analyses and X-Y mapping due to the high-precision stage. This allows the detection and identification of minor but crucially present phases, small particles, inclusions or impurities.

The ability to automatically switch radiation sources between copper and cobalt generates optimised results and analysis, overcoming phenomena such as fluorescence that can occur when analysing iron-based samples with copper radiation. The rotating anode works in harmony with the Rapid II 2D Area Image Plate Detector that features no electronic noise or background, as well as a wide dynamic range that is equally sensitive to all wavelengths.

“One of the main reasons we chose the Rigaku Rapid II was the flexibility and versatility of the system,” said Professor Andrea Gerson, one of the key personnel responsible for the selection. “We have in fact ordered the system configured to be able to carry out non-ambient transmission studies, stress and texture analyses as well as general bulk powder measurements.”

Professor Andrea Gerson holding a specimen of the mineral fluorite (CaF₂). Image credit: Andrew Beveridge.

Some of the projects already lined up for the product include the examination of secondary mineralisation formation during acid mine drainage, formation of surface layers during copper ore hydrometallurgical processing, analyses for trace value minerals and trace toxic minerals, and scale formation during alumina Bayer processing.

The device is expected to extend the institute’s existing capabilities, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. It will also aid commercial collaborators by accelerating product development and integration of new technologies into next-generation manufacturing.

The system’s capabilities can be expanded in the future to cater for the analysis of small molecules, thin films and macromolecules. Entire components can be examined without the need to turn the sample into a powder, making it a form of non-destructive testing.

The system will be delivered to the institute in October.