X‐ray contact microscopy using an excimer laser plasma source with different target materials and laser pulse durations

Albertano, Patrizia; Reale, L.; Palladino, L.; Reale, A.; Cotton, Robin A.; Bollanti, S.; Lazzaro, P. Di; Flora, F.; Lisi, N.; Nottola, A.; Papadaki, K. Vigli; Letardi, T.; Banai, D.; Conti, Andrea; Moret, Michel; Grilli, Antonio

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2818.1997.2120768.x

Cited by 25 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Cherenkov radiation occurs if relativistic electrons penetrate a sample if the velocity of the particle, v , is larger than the phase velocity of the electromagnetic radiation in the material, that is, v c > / ( ) ε ω . Of particular interest is the spectral region of the so -called water window where water is transparent and absorption from the carbon K edge (4.37 and 2.33 nm for oxygen) makes in situ investigations of biological samples possible [156] .…”

Section: Selected X -Ray Surface/interface Analysis Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring of Interfaces for the Photoelectrochemical Conversion of Solar Energy

Lewerenz

2010

Advances in Electrochemical Sciences and Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionIn the search for terrestrially applicable carbon -neutral energy sources, photoelectrochemical systems exhibit several advantageous features: examples are the facilitated junction formation at the electrolyte interface, the scalability typically achieved by self -organized processes at the solid -liquid boundary [1, 2] , lowtemperature processing, and the in situ preparation and optimization of specifi c interface conditions [3,4] . In addition, photoelectrochemical solar cells can operate in the photovoltaic [5 -9] as well as in the photoelectrocatalytic [10 -14] mode. The latter is of particular importance because global energy consumption is clearly dominated by the use of fuels compared to electricity [15] . Due to stability issues when operating a solar cell at a reactive phase boundary, such as a semiconductor -electrolyte contact, photovoltaic electrochemical solar cells have technologically not been realized despite the existence of systems that have demonstrated extended stability under operation [4,7] . As limited thermodynamic stability is also a factor for solar fuel generating devices, a general strategy is needed for the future implementation of photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion systems.At the present stage of the fi eld, a multifaceted approach appears mandatory which focuses on fundamental research regarding charge and excitation energy transfer [16 -18] , materials development, particularly in conjunction with the developments in nanoscience [19 -23] , and control of interface behavior [24 -26] . This latter aspect will be the focus of the present chapter.Besides the investigation of fundamental properties of the solid -liquid interface, the situation with a rapidly deteriorating atmospheric situation [27] also demands the use of rational screening methods for the identifi cation and examination of novel photoactive materials, material combinations, and composites [28 -30] . It is obvious that a large -scale and international research and development effort is 2 Advances in Electrochemical Science and Engineering. Edited

show abstract

Section: Selected X -Ray Surface/interface Analysis Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tailoring of Interfaces for the Photoelectrochemical Conversion of Solar Energy

Lewerenz

2010

Advances in Electrochemical Sciences and Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The results obtained about the fluorescent structure of this sample, investigated with the SNOM, are discussed in a previous work (Ustione et al , 2006); on this sample, we encountered a region where the metallic debris (Zn), coming from an excimer laser plasma source developed at C.R. ENEA Frascati (Albertano et al , 1997; Bollanti et al , 1998; Attwood, 1999) used in the exposing process, was present on the surface of the LiF film. Although not intentional, the debris presence was useful to determine the optical resolution (intended as the spatial resolution of the optical image) of our SNOM.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SNOM images of X‐ray radiographs at nano‐scale stored in a thin layer of lithium fluoride

Oliva

Ustione

Almaviva

et al. 2008

Journal of Microscopy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryIn this work, we report a method to observe soft X-ray radiographs at nanoscale of various kind of samples, biological and metallic, stored in a thin layer of lithium fluoride, employing scanning near-field optical microscopy with an optical resolution that reaches 50 nm. lithium fluoride material works as a novel image detector for X-ray nanoradiographs, due to the fact that extreme ultraviolet radiation and soft X-rays efficiently produce stable point defects emitting optically stimulated visible luminescence in a thin surface layer. The bi-dimensional distribution of the so-created defects depends on the local nanostructure of the investigated sample.

show abstract

“…In this region, the absorption of carbon is $10 times that of water. Hence, using X-rays in this range allows living biological specimens to be imaged with good contrast in a natural aqueous environment (Stead et al, 1988Albertano et al, 1997a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the last 10 y, soft-X-rays produced by laser plasmas have been widely used for the imaging tech-nique called the ''contact mode'' (SXCM), which places the sample in contact with a photosensitive plate, typically a PMMA (poly methyl methacrylate) photoresist for standard radiography (Albertano et al, 1997a(Albertano et al, , 1997bBollanti et al, 1995Bollanti et al, , 1996Bollanti et al, , 1998Conti et al, 1997;Cotton et al, 1995;Fletcher et al, 1992;Ford et al, 1991;Stead et al, 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microradiography as a tool to detect heavy metal uptake in plants for phytoremediation applications

Reale¹,

Lai²,

Bellucci³

et al. 2006

Microsc. Res. Tech.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, an application of contact microradiography with soft X-rays for detecting the uptake site of heavy metal in the whole plant leaves is investigated. The X-ray source is a laser-plasma one based on an Nd:glass laser. The soft X-ray radiation emitted from the plasma laser targets of magnesium, iron, and copper can be strongly absorbed in the leaves' regions rich in iron, magnesium, and copper. This absorbance could point to structures in the leaves where these heavy elements are found. In this work, leaves treated with copper sulfate diluted in water at 1, 2, and 5% were imaged by using a copper target, in order to evaluate differences with untreated control leaves. Our results showed that this methodology highlighted the presence of copper in the treated leaves. This new methodology should detect heavy element pollutants inside plants and it should also be a useful analytic tool in phytoremediation studies.

show abstract

X‐ray contact microscopy using an excimer laser plasma source with different target materials and laser pulse durations

Cited by 25 publications

References 17 publications

Tailoring of Interfaces for the Photoelectrochemical Conversion of Solar Energy

Tailoring of Interfaces for the Photoelectrochemical Conversion of Solar Energy

SNOM images of X‐ray radiographs at nano‐scale stored in a thin layer of lithium fluoride

Microradiography as a tool to detect heavy metal uptake in plants for phytoremediation applications

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About