Scan system for arbitrary-shaped samples at the synchrotron radiation facility

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scan methodology is important for elemental mapping of samples at a synchrotron radiation facility. To save the experiment time and improve the experiment efficiency, one should develop an efficient XRF scan method. In this paper, a new scan mode is presented. It can map arbitrary-shaped areas without stopping the motors. The control and data acquisition system integrates motor controlling, detector triggering, and data acquisition and storage. The system realizes the arbitrary-shaped 2D-mapping and fluorescence data acquisition synchronously. SR-XRF mapping has been performed with a standard gold mask to verify the validity of this method at beamline BL15U1 of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The results show that this method reduces the total scan time and improves the experiment efficiency.