A method of evaluating fatigue damage of a rotor mast. The method includes performing an x-ray diffraction (“XRD”) inspection of the rotor mast, assessing fatigue damage sustained by the rotor mast based on results of the XRD inspection, and determining whether the rotor mast is suitable for continued use based on the assessed fatigue damage.

A mounting system and a sample holder for an X-ray diffraction (XRD) apparatus are provided. The mounting system includes a mounting bracket, an attachment module and a biasing assembly. The mounting bracket is mountable to the XRD apparatus and is rotatable about a rotation axis. The mounting bracket includes an abutment structure defining a reference position. The attachment module is mountable onto the mounting bracket at an adjustable attaching position with respect to the reference position. The attachment module comprises an attaching element that is engageable with the abutment structure for abutting the mounting bracket proximate the reference position. The biasing assembly is mounted onto one of the mounting bracket or the attachment module for interlocking the mounting bracket with the attachment module, such that the mounting bracket is blocked in a plane substantially parallel to the rotation axis, thereby allowing the attaching position to be aligned with the rotation axis.

A beam shaping apparatus (10) for use in an X-ray analysis device (40). The beam shaping apparatus processes an input N beam (32) from an X-ray beam source (20), and generates an output beam (34) with an output beam shape for irradiating a sample (112) held by a sample holder (22) of the X-ray analysis device. Movement of the output beam shape is controlled in dependence upon a varying tilt angle (χ) of the sample (112), this defined by a tilt position of the sample holder (22).

A measuring arrangement (20) for x-ray radiation, comprising—a sample position (3), which can be illuminated by xray radiation (2) and—an x-ray detector (13) for detecting x-ray radiation emitted from the sample position (3), comprising at least one detector module (21-24), wherein the detector module (21-24) has a plurality of sensor elements (14; 14a-14e) arranged successively in a measuring direction (MR), each sensor element having a centroid (18), wherein the sensor elements (14; 14a-14e) are arranged in a common sensor plane (16) of the detector module (21-24), is characterized in that at least a majority of the sensor elements (14;14a-14e) of the detector module (21-24), preferably all the sensor elements (14; 14a-14e) of the detector module (21-24), are designed as uniformly spaced sensor elements (14; 14a-14e), wherein the centroids (18) of the sensor elements (14; 14a-14e) have an equal distance R0 from the sample position (3). The measuring arrangement according to the invention can be implemented having flat detector modules, in particular semiconductor detector modules, and is less susceptible to measurement errors.

A method for determining a mineralogical composition of a geological formation sample includes measuring a mineralogical composition of the sample and measuring an elemental composition of the sample. The mineralogical composition is processed to compute a predicted elemental composition of the sample based on known elemental compositions of predetermined minerals. The measured mineralogical composition is corrected to obtain a corrected mineralogical composition which is in turn processed to compute a corresponding corrected predicted elemental composition of the sample. The measured elemental composition is compared with the predicted elemental compositions to obtain error indicators. The error indicators are compared and evaluated to selected and output one of the measured or corrected measured mineralogical compositions.

A method of evaluating fatigue damage of a rotor mast. The method includes performing an x-ray diffraction (“XRD”) inspection of the rotor mast, assessing fatigue damage sustained by the rotor mast based on results of the XRD inspection, and determining whether the rotor mast is suitable for continued use based on the assessed fatigue damage.

The present invention relates to sample holder for holding a sample. The sample holder comprises a body having an incident surface and an opening in the body for receiving a sample. When the sample is irradiated with X-rays the incident surface of the sample holder may also be irradiated, especially at low incident angles. To reduce background scattering from the incident surface, the incident surface comprises a protrusion for blocking X-rays.

The present disclosure introduces methods for characterizing iron core carbohydrate colloid drug products, such as iron sucrose drug products. Disclosed methods enable the characterization of the iron core size of the iron core nanoparticles in iron carbohydrates as they exist in the formulation in solution, such as e.g. iron sucrose drug products, and more particularly, the average particle diameter size and size distribution(s) of the iron core nanoparticles. The disclosed methods apply small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in parallel beam transmission geometry, with a sample mounted inside a capillary and centered in the X-ray beam, to iron carbohydrates, such as iron sucrose, in solution without the need to modify the sample, such as to remove unbound carbohydrates, dilute, or dry the sample, to accurately characterize the average iron core particle diameter size of the iron core nanoparticles. An example application of the disclosed method is to perform SAXS measurements under identical instrument settings on two samples of the same type of iron core nanoparticle colloid drug product for the purpose of comparing their iron core structures. Such comparisons are typically performed during the iron core carbohydrate colloid drug development process, and can include comparisons of samples that have been manipulated.

Methods and systems for characterizing dimensions and material properties of semiconductor devices by full beam x-ray scatterometry are described herein. A full beam x-ray scatterometry measurement involves illuminating a sample with an X-ray beam and detecting the intensities of the resulting zero diffraction order and higher diffraction orders simultaneously for one or more angles of incidence relative to the sample. The simultaneous measurement of the direct beam and the scattered orders enables high throughput measurements with improved accuracy. The full beam x-ray scatterometry system includes one or more photon counting detectors with high dynamic range and thick, highly absorptive crystal substrates that absorb the direct beam with minimal parasitic backscattering. In other aspects, model based measurements are performed based on the zero diffraction order beam, and measurement performance of the full beam x-ray scatterometry system is estimated and controlled based on properties of the measured zero order beam.

A method for X-ray measurement includes generating and directing an X-ray beam to a sample including at least first and second layers stacked on one another, the X-ray beam incident on a sample location at which the first and second layers include respective first and second high aspect ratio (HAR) structures. X-ray scatter profiles are measured, that are emitted from the sample location in response to the X-ray beam as a function of tilt angle between the sample and the X-ray beam. A shift is estimated, between the first and second layers and a characteristic tilt of the first and second layers, based on the X-ray scatter profiles measured as a function of the tilt angle.