Synchrotron SOLEIL IPANEMA, Gif-sur-Yvette, FR

FIXLAB  PLATFORM A Available facility: IPANEMA platform for ancient material research at Synchrotron  SOLEIL

SOLEIL, the latest synchrotron radiation source worldwide, is a third generation synchrotron source. This generation of synchrotrons is characterised by their focus on straight sections equipped with undulators and wigglers that provide orders of magnitude higher brilliance than conventional bending magnets and laboratory sources, and are very well suited to imaging and spot experiments.
Research on ancient materials has been identified as one of the priority areas at SOLEIL and all SOLEIL beamlines will be open within FIXLAB for access to users. SOLEIL is currently entering the construction phase of IPANEMA (‘European Institute for the non-destructive photon-based analysis of ancient materials’) a research platform entirely devoted to the study of cultural heritage samples and objects. In order to support the research carried out on ancient materials, IPANEMA will facilitate the access of users to synchrotron beamlines at SOLEIL and at other European synchrotrons, by facilitating contacts with beamline teams, co-preparing research proposals, providing technical support (adapted sample environment, support to sample preparation, complementary analyses, data processing). The IPANEMA team is also developing PUMA, a hard X-ray imaging beamline optimised for ancient materials. The IPANEMA building (opening 2012) will comply with museum standards for the conservation of ancient and historical artefacts. It will also inform and train users, as well as participate to dissemination activities, as New Lights on Ancient Materials, the first ever European training programme on synchrotron for heritage materials (2004, 2007 and 2010, COST). This new platform is so far unique at the international level and will open up gradually until 2012. IPANEMA will therefore contribute to bridging the gap between synchrotron techniques and the cultural heritage community, interconnecting specialists and fostering technological transfer from the large-scale facility to the conservation laboratories.
Among many other accessible modalities, synchrotron 2D imaging (i.e. using a beam footprint of a few micrometers or less, or using full field approaches) is either used for single spot analyses on minute samples or to acquire 2D (3D) spectromicroscopy images. Such images can lead to the very precise mapping of composition (X-ray fluorescence), chemical (X-ray absorption, infrared microscopy) and textural / structural (X-ray diffraction) information at the micrometer length-scale level, crucial for the understanding of the materials, their ageing and the treatments applied to them. Reducing the pixel size can additionally decrease the complexity due to the lower number of chemical species contributing to each spectrum collected, thus simplifying further data processing. Synchrotron 3D imaging, either in confocal mode (XRF, XAS…) or full-field mode (micro-computed tomography) is undergoing a rapid development that enables the imaging of samples or objects at sub-micron resolution.

Five main methods are available at SOLEIL beamlines for research on cultural heritage materials:
 X-ray absorption, useful to determine the atomic environments of a given element, through two main approaches: X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). The main use in archaeometry, art history and conservation science is to obtain the precise determination of the chemical environment of selected atoms, often to confirm an oxidation state or to identify a chemical compound by comparison to references. Accurate distances to neighbouring atoms can be determined. This technique is specific to synchrotron as it requires a highly monochromatic beam. The corresponding beamlines at SOLEIL are DIFFABS, LUCIA, SAMBA, NANOSCOPIUM (from 2013) and GALAXIES (from 2010).
X-ray diffraction, useful to identify the crystalline constituents of a sample (powder, thin section or large sample) or to determine the precise structure at the atomic level of a pure crystalline compound. Synchrotron provides unprecedented flux and angular resolution as well as coupling with absorption techniques. Further analysis can provide information on crystalline domain size, texture (preferential orientation), structural defects, etc. and can reveal mechanical or heat treatment (firing, hammering…) The corresponding beamlines at SOLEIL are DIFFABS, CRISTAL and NANOSCOPIUM (2013).
Infrared spectromicroscopy provides a detailed identification of the chemical groups at the beam footprint, therefore enabling the identification of chemical signatures of organic and inorganic compounds at a few micrometer resolution. Samples can be characterised in transmission mode, in a reflection geometry using for instance attenuated total reflectance crystals or in gas phase. At synchrotron beamlines fast imaging can be performed at the resolution imposed by the diffraction limit (3-6 µm) with very high signal-to-noise ratio. Infrared methods are available at SMIS (mid-infrared domain) and AILES (far infrared domain).
Small angle X-ray scattering is primarily useful to determine the ‘supramolecular’ organisation of fibres (proteins, cellulose) in ancient textile, paper, parchment, and human remains or to determine the distribution of holes in a sample. SAXS is further used for fibre identification in difficult cases, to assess the preservation stage of textiles for conservation purposes or to gain a better understanding of alteration mechanism. The corresponding beamline at SOLEIL is SWING.
Full field X-ray micro-computed tomography methods rely on the interaction between a wide beam and a sample. Some of the major specificities of the synchrotron radiation (high flux, monochromaticity, near parallel geometry and partial coherence) are particularly suited to the observation of samples that are difficult to image using conventional radiography and microtomography equipment. The corresponding beamline at SOLEIL is PSICHÉ (2012).
Many other techniques are available in the X-ray and UV ranges.

Provider’ general information:

SOLEIL

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WELCOME DESK Contact Person:

Name: Dr Loïc Bertrand