{"id":1636,"date":"2025-02-09T15:39:06","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T23:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/?page_id=1636"},"modified":"2026-05-07T12:25:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:25:59","slug":"pushing-the-limit-of-x-ray-science","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/research\/pushing-the-limit-of-x-ray-science\/","title":{"rendered":"X-ray Science for Next-Gen Materials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Core X-ray Methods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Technique<\/th><th>Probe Depth<\/th><th>Unique Capabilities<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>XAS (NEXAFS)<\/td><td>5-1000 nm<\/td><td><strong>Chemical fingerprinting:<\/strong>&nbsp;Oxidation states, bond angles, and electronic structure at target elements (C, O, N, \u2026 edges)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>RSoXS<\/td><td>2 nm \u2013 3 \u03bcm<\/td><td><strong>Nanostructure + chemistry:<\/strong>&nbsp;Domain purity, molecular orientation, and interfacial composition<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>RSoXR<\/td><td>.1-500 nm<\/td><td><strong>Buried interfaces:<\/strong>&nbsp;Layer thickness, density gradients, and interfacial roughness<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>GIWAXS<\/td><td>0.1 \u00c5 to 5 \u00c5<\/td><td><strong>Crystal Structure:<\/strong>&nbsp;(<em>Non-resonant<\/em>) Crystallinity, crystalline\/polycrystalline disorder, molecular packing<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Resonance Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2026\/03\/image-792x360.png\" alt=\"NEXAFS Spectrum.\" class=\"wp-image-2018\" width=\"594\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2026\/03\/image-792x360.png 792w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2026\/03\/image-396x180.png 396w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2026\/03\/image-768x349.png 768w, https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2026\/03\/image.png 1261w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At specific energies near absorption edges, X-ray sensitivity increases&nbsp;<strong>100-1000\u00d7<\/strong>&nbsp;for target elements. We exploit this to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Isolate chemical environments<\/strong>&nbsp;(e.g., carbonyl vs aromatic carbon)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Map 3D molecular orientation<\/strong>&nbsp;using polarization control<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Quantify nanoscale composition<\/strong>\u00a0in complex mixtures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Spectroscopy methods are the primary drive for understanding the near edge electronic fine structure that dictates our resonant sensitivity enhancement. We host an open data collaborative project for the community that details this technique. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-cta \" >\n\t<a \t\t\t\t\thref=\"http:\/\/xrayatlas.wsu.edu\/wiki\/home\"\t\n\t\tclass=\"wsu-button  wsu-button--style-action\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\tCheck out our Wiki!\t\t\t<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This open data project provides robust and detailed molecular metadata to facilitate future analyses from fundamental research to machine learning model training. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-cta \" >\n\t<a \t\t\t\t\thref=\"http:\/\/xrayatlas.wsu.edu\/browse\/molecules\"\t\n\t\tclass=\"wsu-button  wsu-button--style-action\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\tBrowse X-ray Atlas\t\t\t<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To see why this is so powerful, check out the spectral differences between these two very similar molecules!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-container  wsu-max-width--small wsu-align-item--center\" >\r\n    \n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/xrayatlas.wsu.edu\/molecules\/y6\">Y6<\/a><\/td><td><a href=\"https:\/\/xrayatlas.wsu.edu\/molecules\/y11\">Y11<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Y6 &#8211; Y11 spectral comparison hosted on the X-ray Atlas NEXAFS Database project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Advancing RSoXS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Our innovations in&nbsp;<strong>Resonant Soft X-ray Scattering<\/strong>&nbsp;include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>New tensor models for orientation analysis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Developing multi component scattering models<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In-situ\/operando measurement platforms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Probing Buried Structures with RSoXR<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Our&nbsp;<strong>Resonant Reflectivity<\/strong>&nbsp;work with Lawrence Berkeley Lab enables:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Interracial chemistry studies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thin film structure analyses<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Deep dives into light matter interactions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/wpcdn.web.wsu.edu\/wp-labs\/uploads\/sites\/945\/2025\/03\/Media1.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Crystallinity and GIWAXS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>National lab resources, and our in house state of the art Xeuss 3.0 Instrument by XENOCS help us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Measure crystal Nano-structures and molecular orientation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Connect molecular orientation and packing to device performance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collaborate with other scientists at WSU.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Core X-ray Methods Technique Probe Depth Unique Capabilities XAS (NEXAFS) 5-1000 nm Chemical fingerprinting:&nbsp;Oxidation states, bond angles, and electronic structure at target elements (C, O, N, \u2026 edges) RSoXS 2 nm \u2013 3 \u03bcm Nanostructure + chemistry:&nbsp;Domain purity, molecular orientation, and interfacial composition RSoXR .1-500 nm Buried interfaces:&nbsp;Layer thickness, density gradients, and interfacial roughness GIWAXS [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28071,"featured_media":0,"parent":18,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_wsuwp_accessibility_report":null},"categories":[],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28071"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1636"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2064,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1636\/revisions\/2064"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1636"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=1636"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/carbon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=1636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}