Tips for the nanoprobe

Things to consider:

Space – our vessel and stages are limited in terms of space so large items may need more sample preparation and consideration.

Sample thickness – We use a microscope in transmission to focus. If your sample is thick or opaque, focusing will be more challenging, and you will need to discuss with your local contact. We are also limited in size due to our detector set up, and the range of our stages.

Feature size – If the size of your features of interest are large (e.g. 50 microns or more), collecting at our highest resolution will take a long time. The microfocus beam at I18 may be more suitable. The range of our stages is max. 3 mm in all axes (X,Y,Z).

Signal – the beam is small, so for samples with low concentrations, the signal may not be sufficient, or long count times may be needed. For performing quick XRF “coarse” scanning, we set a big step size (i.e., 500 nm per pixel), meaning that the nano beam is roughly hitting your region of interest. In general, we do not defocus the beam.

Beam damage – are your samples beam sensitive? How will you check for beam damage?

In addition, there are specific considerations for different techniques that we offer.

More information about the beamline generally can be found on other pages of the website or our beamline paper: https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600577521002502.