SBIR-STTR Award

A wavelength dispersive x-ray fluorescence detector working in soft x-ray region has been proposed based on the diffraction principles of multilayers. Using graded multilayers, the detectors can be made tunable in a wide energy region, just the same way as the detector constructed for hard x-rays. The detector uses multilayers as analyzers to achieve good energy resolution and to avoid count rate problems encountered by solid state detectors. Initial evaluation shows that it is possible to achieve an energy resolution of 10-30 eV at 600 eV to 1KeV range. The proposed array detector will be able to cover 5 to 10% of solid angle at a reasonable cost. Phase I project will evaluate the performance of multilayer detector with various deposition and design parameters. A multilayer detector, containing 2-3 multilayer elements, will be fabricated and fully tested. Phase II will optimize the design based on the Phase I result, and a multilayer analyzer array detector will be constructed and tested. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The project covers the research and development of x-ray fluorescence detectors in soft x-ray region. With superb energy resolution, reasonable solid angle, and very large count rate limitations, it will have a better market potential than non-energy resolving detectors and solid state detector currently available. With different deposition and design parameters, the multilayer detector can be tailored to satistify various applications.

A wavelength dispersive x-ray fluorescence detector working in soft x-ray region has been proposed based on the diffraction principles. The detector uses graded multilayers as analyzers and large area detectors for data collection to achieve good energy resolution and to avoid count rate problems encountered by solid state detectors. Furthermore, the detector will be tunable in a wide energy region and easy to operate. Testing results obtained in Phase I indicate that the detector will have a throughput between 20 to 30%, and a bandwidth of 3-4%. In the Phase II project, we will design and fabricate the multilayer array analyzer/detectors with large solid angle, which will be optimized in two energy regions: 500 to 1000 eV, and 1000 eV to 2000 eV. The detectors will be evaluated for their performance, and will be marketed as a generally used soft x-ray fluorescence detector for x-ray spectroscopy, fluorescence analysis, and imaging experiments. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The proposed detector will be marketed as a generally used soft x-ray fluorescence detector for various experimental techniques, which can be tailored to satisfy various applications. With superb energy resolution, reasonable solid angle, and very large count rate limitations, it will have a very promising market potential, especially a much better performance to price ratio compared to the solid state detector available. The product may lead to new market opportunities in high sensitive and more rapid data collection