A new SR-TXRF vacuum chamber for ultra-trace analysis at HASYLAB, Beamline L

A new vacuum chamber for synchrotron radiation‐induced total reflection x‐ray fluorescence (SR‐TXRF) analysis has been installed at HASYLAB, DESY, Hamburg, beamline L utilizing the translation and rotation stages of the regular microfocus setup for adjustment. The chamber is equipped with an automatic sample loader for 30 mm diameter quartz reflectors for inserting the prepared sample reflectors in the measuring position with high reproducibility. Alternatively, a chuck can be inserted allowing various sizes and shapes of samples to be measured. The fluorescence radiation emitted by the sample was measured by a silicon drift detector (SDD) with a 5 mm2 active area and detection limits of 15 fg have been obtained on a sample containing 100 pg of Ni using an Ni/C multilayer monochromator. Using the Si 111 crystal monochromator also x‐ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) investigations in total reflection geometry on trace elements are feasible. Cr K‐edge XANES measurements of C. avellana L. (hazel) pollen (20 ppm Cr concentration) and on an urban aerosol sample are presented. The Cr content in the pollen amounts to about 20 ppm, Detection limits of Cr were found to be 40 pg for a 30 s measuring time, which seems to be reasonable for performing energy scans for x‐ray absorption fine structure measurements. Further, the setup is suitable to perform angle scans to determine depth profiles of implants in Si wafers. This was tested for ultra‐shallow implants of As in Si. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.