Innovative X-ray Microscope Put Into Operation

High-resolution, three-dimensional views of the inner workings of materials – an ultramodern X-ray microscope has been put into operation at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). This device makes it possible to directly observe changes in materials when heat is applied, for example. The X-ray microscope was funded as part of a major instrumentation initiative by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG).

Röntgenmikroskop Materialforschung
© Fraunhofer IMWS
The ZEISS Xradia 810 Ultra X-ray microscope will be used for material research in Halle.

During the joint inauguration ceremony last Friday, researchers from MLU and the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS showed guests from the fields of politics, science and industry all of the material-analysis possibilities offered by the new ZEISS Xradia 810 Ultra X-ray microscope. The acquisition was supported as part of the DFG’s major instrumentation initiative. In all of Germany, only two instruments in this class were funded by the DFG. Overall, the program equipped six universities with innovative X-ray microscopes worth a total of 13.4 million euros.

“I am pleased that our successful request for an X-ray microscope has already led to several X-ray microscope research projects at MLU and other universities in order to find productive uses for this exciting technology. It is extremely important to make the latest technologies available in a good environment – with professional support – for the many different questions that arise in science and research,” says Dr. Michael Royeck, a specialist in the DFG’s Scientific Instrumentation and Information Technology group.

“I am very happy that the DFG has acknowledged our previous work with this funding. We can use the ZEISS Xradia 810 Ultra to give new momentum to our university’s research emphasis on nanostructured materials, while also giving research institutions at the Weinberg Campus in Halle an opportunity to work with this ultramodern device,” says Prof. Ralf Wehrspohn, Chair of the Department of Microstructure-Based Material Design at MLU and the Director of Fraunhofer IMWS.

The innovative technology can automatically map the structure of materials. The X-ray microscope creates a three-dimensional view of the properties of materials, and allows people to draw conclusions about their behavior. The technology, which became available only recently, makes it possible to study high-performance materials at the microstructural level in three dimensions even without access to electron storage rings at large research institutions.

The analysis involves three steps: First, the microPREP laser preparation device, developed jointly by 3D-Micromac AG in Chemnitz and Fraunhofer IMWS, is used to create a sample that has the correct geometry to be studied with the X-ray microscope. Experimental 3D data is then generated using the high-resolution 810 Ultra from ZEISS, and the data is visualized and analyzed using innovative InViewR virtual-reality data glasses from arivis AG.

“The interaction between the three technologies allows us to obtain very high-resolution 3D structural information that forms the basis for accelerated development of new materials. The resolution of 50 nanometers that can be achieved using this new large instrumentation, with a tested sample volume of nearly 4000 cubic micrometers, closes a gap that other microstructural diagnostic procedures do not cover,” says Prof. Thomas Höche, Head of the Optical Materials and Technologies group at Fraunhofer IMWS.

Thanks to several package applications funded by the DFG, the materials to be studied will primarily be structured glass and glass ceramic materials such as those used in displays and stovetops. For instance, the large device made by ZEISS can track the growth of crystals in glass ceramics in three dimensions. That makes it possible to control various process parameters such as temperature in order to create the desired structures.

The X-ray microscope will also be available for other scientific working groups to use. For instance, researchers from Clausthal University of Technology, the University of Osnabrück, the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and other research institutions will be able to use the device in Halle.