Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science Corporation (Oxford, UK) has expanded the capabilities of the established X-Strata920 XRF coatings analyzer to include a new high-resolution detector and a new sample stage configuration. The Hitachi Hitch-Tech XRF Coatings range has successfully helped measure coating thickness in the electronics and general metal finishing industries for over 40 years. The X-Strata920 ensures coatings meet the required specifications and minimize waste from excess coating or scrapping under-plated material. With the expansion of the X-Strata’s capabilities, users are able to do much more with this instrument. Features include:
- Customization for optimal performance, with options for a high-resolution silicon drift detector (SDD) or a proportional counter.
- Four chamber and base configurations to handle a large selection of sample shapes and sizes, including complex geometries found in the automotive industry.
An SDD can offer advantages over a proportional counter for complex coating structures, as it can more easily analyze elements that have similar XRF characteristics, such as nickel and copper. This extends the range of elements that can be analysed to include phosphorus – critical for electroless nickel analysis, and can more precisely measure thin coatings, such as gold in the nanometer range when conforming to IPC-4552A.