[en] Throughout the two weeks from January 28th to February 8th an international team of experts, appointed by the IAEA and led by Ulrich Schmocker from Switzerland, carried out a detailed study of the CSN. The objective of the IRRS mission, which was performed in response to a request from the Council itself, was to analyse the structure and operation of the Spanish regulatory body in order to determine its strengths and weaknesses and to suggest measures to improve its management. (Author)

[en] X-ray microscopy (XRM) techniques are emerging as powerful and complementary tools for sub-micron investigations. Soft XRM traditionally offers the possibility to form direct images of thick hydrated biological material in near-native environments, at a spatial resolution well beyond that achievable with visible light microscopy. Natural contrast is available in the soft X-ray region, in the so-called 'water-window', due to the presence of absorption edges of the major constituents (C,N,O). Recent advances in manufacturing techniques have enlarged the accessible energy range of micro-focusing optics and offer new applications in a broad range of disciplines. XRM in the 1-20 keV energy range is better suited to map trace elements in fluorescence yield, 3-D tomographic imaging and in micro-diffraction. After a brief introduction to the principles and methods, the main attributes of X-ray microscopy will be presented. This presentation will be biased towards sub-micron microscopy developed at the ESRF in the 2-10 keV energy. Strengths and weaknesses of X-ray microscopy and spectro-microscopy techniques will be discussed and illustrated by examples in biology, materials sciences and geology. (authors)

[en] ID21 is a beamline dedicated to X-ray imaging and spectro-microscopy in the 0.2-7 keV energy range. Initiated four years ago, the beamline construction is almost completed and the beamline is now entering into the first operational phase. The beamline is installed on a low beta straight section which is equipped with three undulators and serves two independent end-stations on two separate branch-lines. The scanning X-ray Microscope, served by the 'direct' branch-line, equipped with two fixed-exit monochromators and the full-field imaging transmission X-ray microscope, served by the side-branch and optimised for imaging techniques in the 3-7 keV range. Both microscopes use zone-plates as focussing lenses. This paper describes the beamline architecture and provides some figures on the current performance of the beamline

[en] Preconception exposure to certain chemicals may increase risk of tumors in offspring, especially with regard to occupational metals such as chromium. However, the mechanism of chromium trans-generation carcinogenicity remains unknown. Using scanning proton X-ray microanalysis we have been able to detect chromium in testicular tissue sections from mice treated by intraperitoneal injection of 1 mmol/kg CrCl₃. Chromium concentration was about 5 μg/g dry mass in average, but higher concentrations were found within the limiting membrane of the testes, the tunica albuginea. In addition, synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence measurements, with microscopic resolution, clearly demonstrated the presence of chromium in the tunica albuginea but also within isolated cells from the interstitial connective tissue

No abstract available

No abstract available

[en] A short review is given of recent isotope separations at the separator PARIS for the preparation of thin target layers of highly enriched isotopes of thicknesses up to the region of mg cm^-2. The preparation technique makes use of a special collecting system located behind the separation magnet. By use of electrostatic devices the separated beam is focused and permanently deflected in order to avoid contamination by neutrals. It is fast-scanned over two dimensions for the production of homogeneous layers on large surfaces. The beam is decelerated to 70 eV before striking the thin backing foil. This system was improved to obtain an increased target yield by producing a smaller beam spot in the target region. (orig.)

[en] Over the energy range 5∼30 keV a suitably contacted, thin (∼100 μm) diamond plate can be operated in situ as a continuous monitor of X-ray beam intensity and position as the diamond absorbs only a small percentage of the incident beam. Single crystal diamond is a completely homogeneous material showing fast (ns), spatially uniform signal response and negligible (< pA) leakage currents. Due to its unsurpassed thermal conductivity, it is the only semiconductor material that can be used in intense synchrotron white beams. We report on tests made at ESRF and DESY using diamond beam position monitors of simple quadrant electrode designs with metal contacts, operated using wideband electronic readout corresponding to the RF accelerator frequency. The instrumentation for these monitors must cover a large range of operating conditions: different beam sizes, fluxes, energies and time structure corresponding to the synchrotron fill patterns. Sophisticated new RF sampling electronics can satisfy most requirements: using a modified Libera Brilliance readout system, we measured the center of gravity position of a 25 μm beam at the DORIS III F4 beam line at a rate of 130 Msample/s with narrowband filtering of a few MHz bandwidth. Digitally averaging the signal further provided a spatial resolution ∼20 nm.

[en] We describe the new ion implantation system at Orsay, which operates from 5 to 190 kV. Sixty-five elements from H to U have been implanted in insulators, semiconductors or metals. Significant currents (several μA) of three-fold ionized elements have been implanted at energies up to 570 keV. Details are provided on the target-holders used, particularly on a variable temperature (1.7-300 K) cryostat and a variable temperature (80-300 K) goniometer, and on an in situ Rutherford back-scattering analysis set-up (using the 380 keV He²⁺ beam) used in conjunction with all these target-holders. The latter system is used for studies of metastable low-temperature implanted alloys: specific examples will be given. (orig.)

[en] A full-field imaging or transmission X-ray microscope (TXM) working in the photon energy of 3-7 keV was built at the ID21 beamline of the ESRF and is operational since the beginning of this year. The TXM is designed to work in absorption as well as in Zernike phase contrast modes and also offers the possibility for micro-spectroscopic investigations (XAS, element mapping). In this contribution, we give a technical description and characterization of the TXM end-station and discuss its imaging performance