Focusing of soft X-rays using poly-capillary with precise adjustment mechanism and its application to quick chemical-state analysis

Hirao, Norie; Baba, Yuji  ; Sekiguchi, Tetsuhiro  ; Shimoyama, Iwao   

A method for quick and real-time observations of a solid surface at nanometer scale is described. The principle of the method is as follows. Soft X-rays from a synchrotron light source are irradiated on a solid surface and the total photoelectrons are expanded and focused on a screen using electrostatic lenses. When the energy of X-rays is scanned and the brightness is plotted, we can obtain micro X-ray absorption (micro-XAFS) spectra in all regions of the image. The spacial resolution of the method was 40 nm. In order to more quickly observe a microscopic image and measure micro-XAFS spectra, the soft X-rays from the bending magnet were focused using a newly developed poly-capillary. As a result, the photon flux of 3 keV X-rays was increased about 60 time higher than that before the focusing. Using focused X-rays, we succeeded in observing one image at 10 ms for a bulk sample. We have also tried to shorten the measuring time of the micro-XAFS spectrum. For a Si-SiO sample, it has been demonstrated that micro-XAFS spectra in all regions of an image can be obtained within 1 min. It is concluded that real-time observations of chemical-states at nanometer scale are possible by the present method.