On January 2^nd, Bruker announced that it has acquired Nion, a privately-held company that develops and manufactures innovative high-end Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopes (STEM). Nion was the first company to introduce aberration correction for STEM instruments with ultra-high stability for highest resolution images, and Nion is the world leader in ultra-high energy and spatial resolution Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy (EELS). This acquisition enhances Bruker’s product offerings and technology portfolio in materials science research and provides the technology base for applications in electron diffraction crystallography.

Located in Kirkland, WA, USA, Nion was founded in 1997 by Dr. Ondrej Krivanek and Dr. Niklas Dellby. Under their leadership, Nion developed into a premier provider for high-end STEMs for researchers in materials science research worldwide. In addition to advanced scanning transmission electron microscopes (the UltraSTEM™ range), the company designs and makes state-of-the art cold field emission guns, aberration correctors, monochromators, sample stages, spectrometers, and detectors. This allows the company to ensure that all the components work together seamlessly, and to deliver world-class instruments that answer needs in the real world, in an integrated and easy-to-use manner. 

“We are excited to add the high-end STEM products, the electron microscopy technology, and this new expertise of Nion to Bruker,” said Dr. Frank Burgaezy, the Bruker AXS division president. “Nion has unique products for the most demanding research applications in materials science electron microscopy, and Bruker will offer Nion global market reach as well as collaborations on new developments to enter new applications in electron diffraction crystallography based on Nion electron microscope and Bruker crystallography technologies.” 

“With the introduction of aberration correction and ultra-high energy resolution EELS, Nion has revolutionized STEM technology. With our products we have established an excellent reputation among leading scientists around the globe as a provider of high-end STEM products,” added Dr. Ondrej Krivanek, co-founder of Nion. “Our work has given us unique insights into what researchers need. We are very gratified to join Bruker, an internationally esteemed instrumentation company, whose philosophy, culture, and reputation align very closely with our company culture and our research-oriented goals.” 

Read more at Microscopy&Analysis Magazine: Bruker with Nion: The future.

X-rays have a wavelength on the order of a fraction of a nanometer, making them very useful for the interferential analysis of films in the sub-nanometer to 100 nm range. In an X-Ray Reflectometry (XRR) experiment, the X-ray beam illuminates the sample surface at a very low angle of incidence. At angles near zero, the beam is totally reflected by the surface, resulting in a plateau of signal. From a material-specific angle, the incident beam penetrates the surface. This value is known as the critical angle and is proportional to the sqrt(ρ), where ρ is the density of the material. Once the beam penetrates, internal layer interfaces are illuminated, resulting in additional critical angle effects and reflections. The internal reflections, as well as the surface reflection, produce an interference pattern in the specular signal. Fringe spacing is related to the thickness of layers in the coating, while signal persistence is related to the roughness of the interfacial layers. In this application report, we demonstrate XRR analysis with the D6 PHASER on a thin tungsten film.

X-Ray Microscopes (XRMs) combine micro-CT technology with advanced software to provide a complete three-dimensional imaging solution. It is becoming a ubiquitous technology in the modern materials research lab, with users wanting to apply the technique to a wide variety of samples. From battery cells to food products, building materials to electronics and composites to archaeological artifacts, there has been a push to larger samples that must be kept in pristine condition. The SKYSCAN 1273 addresses these needs with a high-power X-ray source, cavernous sample chamber, robust object stage and enormous detector. This high capacity is provided without compromise to the quality of the resulting 3D analysis. To learn more about the SKYSCAN 1273 High Capacity XRM, watch our new video!

Operando X-ray diffraction plays a crucial role in advancing our understanding of energy storage systems, aiming to enhance the efficiency and durability of batteries by providing valuable insights into dynamic processes such as phase transitions, lattice parameter variations, and other crystallographic transformations within the electrodes.

The D6 PHASER benchtop XRD platform now supports fully integrated operando battery research, from planning and execution of cycling experiments to data visualization and batch analysis of large datasets in DIFFRAC.SUITE. Stage attachments for both the reflection mode electrochemical cell and transmission mode pouch cells are available, allowing for investigations of various battery architectures. Altogether, the D6 PHASER stands alone as a pivotal benchtop tool in the pursuit of innovative solutions for next-generation energy storage technologies.

The S6 JAGUAR enables time-efficient and accurate analysis of elements in fuels and oils, contaminants, and wear metals in fuels, lubricants and polymers. When installed at refineries and oil-production plants, it can easily test the quality of incoming materials and optimize the use of additives from day one. It ensures that all elements are analyzed at best performance with highest accuracy and precision combined with low cost of ownership. Some petrochemical applications, however, only require a smaller, more compact Energy Dispersive XRF (EDXRF) instrument. For such applications, Bruker offers the S2 PUMA Series 2 with direct excitation and the S2 POLAR with polarized excitation. Other more demanding applications, such as the need to measure lower traces, or for higher sample throughput in central labs, the floor-standing WDXRF S8 TIGER Series 2 with up to 4 kW power is perhaps the first choice.

We are excited to announce that Bruker AXS Service will be present in Munich at Analytica 2024, the leading trade fair for laboratory technology, analysis, and biotechnology. We will be on-hand to demonstrate our upcoming enhanced remote support technologies, discuss our LabScape support solutions, and answer questions you may have regarding Bruker AXS instrument service. We invite you to visit our booth, No. 314 in Hall A2, from April 9-12 to learn more about our service products and how we can help you maintain the performance and reliability of your Bruker instruments. Join us for an engaging demonstration of our latest augmented reality support featuring HoloLens. We look forward to seeing you there!

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