This conference presentation was prepared for SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2023.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) nanoimaging is a powerful technique to quantify the distribution of elements at the nanoscale. Typically, its spatial resolution is inherently limited by the probe profile and the scanning step size. The deep residual channel attention networks (RCAN) have been developed to enhance the resolution of natural images. In this work, we adapted RCAN to decouple the blurry impact from data acquisition and improve the resolution of XRF images. The performance was further enhanced by refining the network with a relatively small amount of experimental XRF images using a synchrotron nanoprobe. This refined network was then applied to study battery cathode materials, and the enhanced XRF images revealed finer structural and elemental details for a better understanding of their electrochemical reaction mechanism.

This conference presentation was prepared for SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2023.

This conference presentation was prepared for SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2023.

This conference presentation was prepared for SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2023.

This conference presentation was prepared for SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2023.

Materials characterization by x-rays requires a large number of atoms and reducing the material quantity for measurements is a long-standing goal. To date, attogram amount of sample can be detected by x-rays; however, this is still in the range of 10,000 atoms or more and gaining access to a much smaller samples is becoming extremely arduous. Synchrotron x-ray scanning tunneling microscopy (SX-STM) combines the chemical contrast of synchrotron x-rays with the locality of STM. In this presentation, we show that x-rays can be used to characterize the elemental and chemical state of just one atom. Using a specialized tip as a detector, x-ray excited currents generated from an iron and a terbium atom coordinated to organic ligands are detected. The fingerprints of a single atom, the L2,3 and M4,5 absorption edge signals for iron and terbium respectively, are clearly observed in x-ray absorption spectra. X-ray excited resonance tunnelling is dominant for the iron atom. The x-ray signal can be sensed only when the tip detector is located directly above the atom in extreme proximity, which confirms atomically localized detection in the tunnelling regime. Our work connects synchrotron x-rays with a quantum tunnelling process and opens future x-rays experiments for simultaneous characterizations of elemental, and chemical properties of materials at the ultimate single atom limit. This work was performed at the Advanced Photon Source and the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

Recent advances in multi-modal hard X-ray imaging activities at 5-ID SRX beamline at NSLS-II.

The OCTOPI (Operando Computed TOmographic & Ptychographic Imaging) upgrade of the I13L beamline will occur as one of the selected (flagship) projects at Diamond Light Source, UK. The beamline I13L is dedicated to multi-scale, operando and high-throughput imaging. Two independent branchlines cover the micron to nano-resolution range, operating in the energy of 6-30keV. For operando imaging comparable recording times across the different length scales is important for studies under similar experimental conditions in terms of temporal resolution or number of specimen measured. Progress in throughput and data acquisition speed is achieved in different ways. A sample throughput of up to 300 samples a day is achieved for micro-tomography, using an automated sample changer. For imaging with grating interferometry and the full-field microscope, broadband radiation of the undulator source can be used. The bandpass is selected either with a multilayer monochromator or with filters and a mirror. Highest spatial resolution is achieved with ptychography, acquiring data with 10kHz speed and recording tomographic data sets within few hours. Across the different length scales, the gap between the recording times will be significantly reduced and permit multi-scale imaging on a similar number of specimen and time scales. We will discuss the aims of the upgrade and the science to be addressed. The design and layout options for the upgrade will be discussed. References: - M. Storm, F. Döring, S. Marathe, S. Cipiccia, C. David, C. Rau, Journal Of Synchrotron Radiation 29 (2021) 10.1107/S1600577521011206. - S. Marathe, R. F. Ziesche, G. Das, S. L. M. Schroeder, E. Baird, C. Rau, , in Proceedings of SPIE 2021, 11840, (2021) pp. 11840 10.1117/12.2598481. - S. Cipiccia, D. Batey, X. Shi, S. Williams, K. Wanelik, A. Wilson, P. Martin, T. Scott and C. Rau, in 13th International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation, 2019, AIP Conference Proceedings, edited by, S. Gwo, et al., 2054, (2019), pp. 050005. - D. Batey, C. Rau, S. Cipiccia, Scientific Reports 12, 10.1038/s41598-022-11292-8

The micro-tomography endstation at Taiwan Photon Source (TPS) utilizes an efficient design that incorporates a high-flux source, automated pre-alignment, automated sample loading/unloading and a sample storage system resulting in highly efficient operation. In double crystal monochromator (DCM) mode, the sample can be scanned in full resolution within 2 minutes which Includes loading sample, positioning, scan, and unloading sample, with up to 880 samples continuously scanned in the queue. This endstation was opened to user at 2022. This presentation will also cover the new nano-CT endstation which will be ready in 2024.