As part of research on environmental remediation, Asst.Prof.Seidler's and Prof.Stern's groups are collaborating on the development of an energy-dispersive x-ray analyzer for the PNC-CAT beamlines at the advanced photon source. The finished Rowland-circle instrument will be used in anomalous diffuse scattering studies of ions in solutions. In these studies good energy resolution of the scattered radiation is necessary so as to remove complications caused by inelastic scattering, such as Compton scattering and x-ray flourescence. The apparatus consists of a modified two-circle diffractometer, and was designed by UW postdoc Noam Sicron, graduate student Brandon Chapman, and undergraduate Matthew Beerman. Construction of the analyzer will be completed by Nov.15, 1998, and commissioning/testing will occur in late January 1999 at the PNC-CAT beamlines. Shown below is a picture of the mostly-assembled analyzer -- note that the large diffractometer is itself mounted on a 4-foot diameter motorizable rotary stage whose center of rotation passes through the sample location on the diffractometer. The large rotary base, sample adapters, detector-tracking mechanics, focusing slits, and the ion-chamber detector were all fabricated in the UW central shop.
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