Shine Bright Like a Diamond

The latest development of Incoatec’s X-ray tube factory is a new microfocus sealed tube with a unique anode technology, the diamond hybrid anode, using a diamond substrate as a heat sink. The IµS DIAMOND combines this new anode technology with the latest generation of Montel multilayer optics to form the most intense microfocus X-ray sealed tube source for in-house diffraction applications. It is now available for Cu, Mo and Ag radiation.

The IμS DIAMOND is fully integrated into the Bruker AXS single and dual source D8 QUEST and D8 VENTURE solutions. It establishes a new class of X-ray sources, combining an intensity output comparable to the intensity of a modern low power microfocus rotating anode with all the comfort and lifetime of a standard microfocus sealed tube source.

The diamond hybrid anode consists of a diamond as the substrate that is coated with a layer of the target material (e.g. Cu, Mo, Ag). It takes advantage of the exceptional high thermal conductivity of diamond, which is about 5 times higher than that of copper and the highest known conductivity of all bulk materials.  The thin layer of the target material produces the X-rays while the underlying diamond substrate acts as a heat sink, dissipating the heat load more efficiently than a conventional bulk copper anode. Consequently, the diamond hybrid anode can accept a higher power density in the focal spot on the anode without damaging the surface of the target layer.

The diamond hybrid anode is much more stable and long-lived than conventional rotating anodes. In a conventional rotating anode, the anode typical rotates at about 10,000 rpm. This means the surface is rapidly and repeatedly heated and cooled, millions of times per day. This repeated sequence of thermal expansion and contraction causes the surface of the anode to develop microcracks due to metal fatigue. The surface roughening then leads to a gradual reduction in the X-ray output from the anode, typically by 30-40% per year. The balanced heat management in the IμS DIAMOND, however, assures that the intensity loss over time is significantly lower with only a few percent over 10,000 h of full power operation.

The IμS DIAMOND combines the performance of a low power microfocus rotating anode with the reliability, low maintenance, low cost of ownership and high uptime of a conventional microfocus sealed tube source.

IµS DIAMOND for Crystallography

The single crystal diffraction data below show a comparison with a 1 kW microfocus rotating anode.

Data statistics for a small crystal (0.10 x 0.04 x 0.04 mm³) of an organic compound collected with a 1 kW μ-RAG (after ~1500 h of full power operation) and with an IμS DIAMOND.