For many applications there is a requirement for nondestructive analytical investigation of the elemental distribution in a sample. With the improvement of X-ray optics and spectroscopic X-ray imagers, full field X-ray fluorescence (FF-XRF) methods are feasible. A new device for high-resolution X-ray imaging, an energy and spatial resolving X-ray camera, is presented. The basic idea behind this so-called "color X-ray camera" (CXC) is to combine an energy dispersive array detector for X-rays, in this case a pnCCD, with polycapillary optics. Imaging is achieved using multiframe recording of the energy and the point of impact of single photons. The camera was tested using a laboratory 30 μm microfocus X-ray tube and synchrotron radiation from BESSY II at the BAMline facility. These experiments demonstrate the suitability of the camera for X-ray fluorescence analytics. The camera simultaneously records 69,696 spectra with an energy resolution of 152 eV for manganese K(α) with a spatial resolution of 50 μm over an imaging area of 12.7 × 12.7 mm(2). It is sensitive to photons in the energy region between 3 and 40 keV, limited by a 50 μm beryllium window, and the sensitive thickness of 450 μm of the chip. Online preview of the sample is possible as the software updates the sums of the counts for certain energy channel ranges during the measurement and displays 2-D false-color maps as well as spectra of selected regions. The complete data cube of 264 × 264 spectra is saved for further qualitative and quantitative processing.

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X‐ray optics with high energy resolution and collection efficiency are required in X‐ray spectroscopy for investigations of chemistry and coordination. This is particularly the case if the X‐ray source emits a rather weak signal into a large solid angle. In the present work the performance of a spectrometer based on thin mosaic crystals was investigated for different spectroscopic methods using various X‐ray sources. It was found that, even with low‐power X‐ray sources, advanced high‐resolution X‐ray spectroscopy can be performed.

Thin films of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) give the opportunity to realize crystal optics with arbitrary geometry by mounting it on a mould of any shape. A specific feature of HOPG is its mosaicity accompanied by a high integral reflectivity, which is by an order of magnitude higher than that of all other known crystals in an energy range between 2 keV up to several 10 keV. These characteristics make it possible to realize highly efficient collecting optics, which could be also relevant for compact x-ray diagnostic tools and spectrometers. For these applications the achievable spectral resolution of the crystal optics is of interest. In this article measurements with a spectral resolution of E/DeltaE=2900 in the second order reflection and E/DeltaE=1800 in the first order reflection obtained with HOPG crystals are presented. These are by far the highest spectral resolutions reported for HOPG crystals. The integral reflectivity of these very thin films is still comparable with that of ideal Ge crystals. The trade-off between energy resolution and high integral reflectivity for HOPG is demonstrated by determining these parameters for HOPG films of different thickness.

Scanning electron microscopes are usually equipped with energy‐dispersive X‐ray detectors for electron probe microanalysis. This widespread analytical method allows investigators to determine the elemental composition of specimens with a spatial resolution of about 1 µm. However, owing to the electron–specimen interaction, the emitted spectra reveal, in addition to characteristic lines, also a high level of continuous bremsstrahlung background. As a result, elements with low concentrations cannot be identified. The minimum detection limit can be diminished by two orders of magnitude if the characteristic lines are excited as fluorescence by an additional x‐ray source. In this case, the emergence of bremsstrahlung is considerably reduced. Combining a high‐brilliance microfocus x‐ray tube with efficient polycapillary optics enables one to realize an experimental arrangement for performing local fluorescence analysis at the same point where the electron beam hits the sample. The polycapillary optics under consideration focuses the emitted x‐radiation onto focal spots between 30 and 100 µm in diameter. Count rates of several thousands cps have been achieved. Elemental maps have been obtained by means of the motorized specimen stage of the microscope. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.