Rigaku Introduces DicifferX Microarea Edition at JASIS 2026
Rigaku Corporation will introduce the DicifferX Microarea Edition X-ray diffractometer at JASIS 2026, enabling materials characterization of microareas only a few tens of micrometers in size within a laboratory environment. As electronic devices become smaller, components such as multilayer ceramic capacitors are becoming increasingly miniaturized and densely integrated, driving the demand for precise micro-area analysis.
Conventional laboratory X-ray diffraction systems face distinct performance hurdles when attempting to measure microareas. Reducing the beam size typically causes a significant loss of X-ray intensity, while even slight mechanical deflection in the instrument shifts the irradiation position away from the target. These obstacles have historically made measuring features 100 micrometers or less across difficult in standard lab settings, often forcing researchers to rely on synchrotron facilities.
Overcoming Measurement Challenges With Fixed Sources and Software Correction
The DicifferX Microarea Edition resolves these technical barriers through a dedicated hardware and software design. The system features a fixed incident X-ray source that structurally minimizes factors causing positional shifts, ensuring highly reliable diffraction data acquisition. A high-precision multi-axis goniometer handles positional deviations that mechanical precision alone cannot eliminate, utilizing software-based axis intersection correction to maintain strict positional accuracy for features measuring only a few tens of micrometers.
High-Brilliance Optics Increase X-Ray Intensity
To counteract the traditional intensity loss associated with reduced beam sizes, the instrument pairs a high-brilliance point-focus X-ray source with a multilayer focusing mirror. This configuration delivers approximately 100 times the X-ray intensity in the high-resolution setup and roughly 330 times the intensity in the high-intensity setup compared to general-purpose XRD systems. Data collection is handled by a HyPix-3000 2D detector featuring a wide detection area, which supports qualitative and quantitative evaluations of minute discoloration, foreign materials, pole figure measurements, residual stress, and multipoint mapping.
Rigaku Brings Micro-Area Measurement to Research Facilities
The new instrument shifts advanced micro-area measurement capabilities directly into individual research facilities. “The DicifferX Microarea Edition represents a significant leap in our ability to characterize increasingly miniaturized electronic components with unprecedented stability and precision,” said Jun Kawakami, president and CEO of Rigaku Corporation.
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