High spatial resolution techniques

Several groups have used Raman spectroscopy in combination with OCT, which is a rapid, high spatial resolution technique. OCT is used to identify suspicious areas of tissue and single-point Raman spectroscopy is used to confirm presence or absence of disease. Application to dental caries is discussed in Chap. 15. A very recent development is an integrated Raman/OCT probe [34], which is shown in Fig. 5.6. Using biopsied breast tissue, the instrument... 

Most primary condensates are extremely small, ranging from 5 nm to 50 nm in diameter. Adequate characterization of such grains must rely on very high spatial resolution techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or analytical electron microscopy (AEM). In the former technique, the emphasis is on obtaining very clear pictures of the morphology, homogeneity, elemental and mineralogical... 

Overall a customer needs to know under what circumstances it is best to use either the electron-beam techniques of EDS and WDS or the X-ray technique of XRF for an analysis problem. If both are equally available, the choice usually resides in whether high spatial resolution is needed, as would be obtained only with electron-beam techniques. If liquids are to be analyzed, the only viable choice is XRF. If one s choice is to use electron-beam methods, the further decision between EDS and WDS is usually one of operator preference. That is, to commence study on a totally new sample most electron-beam operators will run an EDS spectrum first. If there are no serious peak overlap problems, then EDS may be sufficient. If there is peak overlap or if maximum sensitivity is desired, then WDS is usually preferred. Factored into all of this must be the beam sensitivity of the sample, since for WDS analysis the beam current required is lO-lOOx greater than for EDS. This is of special concern in the analysis of polymer materials. 

An additional advantage to neutron reflectivity is that high-vacuum conditions are not required. Thus, while studies on solid films can easily be pursued by several techniques, studies involving solvents or other volatile fluids are amenable only to reflectivity techniques. Neutrons penetrate deeply into a medium without substantial losses due to absorption. For example, a hydrocarbon film with a density of Ig cm havii a thickness of 2 mm attenuates the neutron beam by only 50%. Consequently, films several pm in thickness can be studied by neutron reflecdvity. Thus, one has the ability to probe concentration gradients at interfaces that are buried deep within a specimen while maintaining the high spatial resolution. Materials like quartz, sapphire, or aluminum are transparent to neutrons. Thus, concentration profiles at solid interfaces can be studied with neutrons, which simply is not possible with other techniques. 

Like XPS, the application of AES has been very widespread, particularly in the earlier years of its existence more recently, the technique has been applied increasingly to those problem areas that need the high spatial resolution that AES can provide and XPS, currently, cannot. Because data acquisition in AES is faster than in XPS, it is also employed widely in routine quality control by surface analysis of random samples from production lines of for example, integrated circuits. In the semiconductor industry, in particular, SIMS is a competing method. Note that AES and XPS on the one hand and SIMS/SNMS on the other, both in depth-profiling mode, are complementary, the former gaining signal from the sputter-modified surface and the latter from the flux of sputtered particles. 

With the use of appropriate transmission optics, high focusing of the laser light is carried out and the extension of the optical probe is considerably reduced. Accordingly, laser-based techniques offer the possibility of measurements of high spatial resolution. 

In summary, the NLE technique offers a concepmally new approach to observe NFS. Existing limits for time resolution could be overcome by a microfocused synchrotron beam (as planned for PETRA III) and by detectors with high spatial resolution and background from SAXS could be suppressed by employing high-energy transitions and crystalline sapphire as rotor material. 

There are two principal sources of reliable partitioning data for any trace element glassy volcanic rocks and high temperature experiments. For the reasons outlined above, both sources rely on analytical techniques with high spatial resolution. Typically these are microbeam techniques, such as electron-microprobe (EMPA), laser ablation ICP-MS, ion-microprobe secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) or proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). 

We shall concern ourselves here with the use of an X-ray probe as a surface analysis technique in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) also known as Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA). High energy photons constitute the XPS probe, which are less damaging than an electron probe, therefore XPS is the favoured technique for the analysis of the surface chemistry of radiation sensitive materials. The X-ray probe has the disadvantage that, unlike an electron beam, it cannot be focussed to permit high spatial resolution imaging of the surface. 

Some experimental techniques require the sample to be studied in very well-defined orientations and positions with respect to the X-ray beam. In the corresponding experiments the structure of the samples is, in general, not changed. A synchrotron beamline is required, because it would take too much time to record the respective data with laboratory equipment or because a special beam shape (microbeam) is essential for scanning the part with high spatial resolution. 

The chemical composition of the IF phase deviates only very slightly, if at all, from the composition of the bulk layered compound. Deviations from stoichiometry can only occur in the cap of the nanotube. In fact, even the most modem analytical techniques, like scanning probe techniques and high (spatial) resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy, are unable to resolve such a tiny deviation from the stoichiometry, like the excess or absence of a single Mo (W) or S (Se) atom in the nanotube cap. 

The high spatial resolution of the technique enables identification of a source of contamination by the characteristic fingerprint left on the wafer. This is illustrated in Fig. 10.5, which shows lifetime maps of wafers contaminated in different ways. The concentric circles shown in Fig. 10.5 a are caused by oxygen precipitates. The... 

Luminescence, in particular photoluminescence, constitutes a well-established discipline in analytical science where the cited hallmarks include remarkable sensitivity, wide dynamic range and low detection limits (-10under suitable conditions). These collective merits are often umivaled by other optical techniques, and hence its wide adoption in the life sciences for determining trace constituents in biological and environmental samples. Moreover, its fast response, high spatial resolution and remote sensing capabilities make it attractive for real-time analytical problems such as process manufacturing (process analysis or PAT) and field applications. ... 

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