Ari-Pekka Honkanen

Study on the reflectivity properties of spherically bent analyser crystals.

Theoretical and experimental studies are presented on properties of spherically bent analyser crystals for high-resolution X-ray spectrometry. A correction to the bent-crystal strain field owing to its finite surface area is derived. The results are used to explain the reflectivity curves and anisotropic properties of Si(660) and Si(553) analysers in near-backscattering geometry. The results from the calculation agree very well with experimental results obtained using an inelastic X-ray scattering synchrotron beamline.

Improving the energy resolution of bent crystal X-ray spectrometers with position-sensitive detectors

A new measurement technique for X-ray spectrometers equipped with a position-sensitive detector is introduced. It is based on the computational compensation of the effects of internal stress of curved analyser crystals to improve the energy resolution in the measurements of point-like samples with no loss of intensity.

Mass‐Production of Mesoporous MnCo2O4 Spinels with Manganese(IV)‐ and Cobalt(II)‐Rich Surfaces for Superior Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalysis

A mesoporous MnCo2 O4 electrode material is made for bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis. The MnCo2 O4 exhibits both Co3 O4 -like activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and Mn2 O3 -like performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The potential difference between the ORR and OER of MnCo2 O4 is as low as 0.83 V. By XANES and XPS investigation, the notable activity results from the preferred MnIV - and CoII -rich surface. The electrode material can be obtained on large-scale with the precise chemical control of the components at relatively low temperature. The surface state engineering may open a new avenue to optimize the electrocatalysis performance of electrode materials. The prominent bifunctional activity shows that MnCo2 O4 could be used in metal-air batteries and/or other energy devices.

A computationally efficient method to solve the Takagi-Taupin equations for a large deformed crystal

We present a treatise on solving the Takagi-Taupin equations in the case of a strain field with an additional, spatially slowly varying component (owing to \emph{e.g.}~heat expansion or angular compression). We show that the presence of such a component in a typical case merely shifts the reflectivity curve as a function of wavelength or incidence angle, while having a negligible effect on its shape. On the basis of the derived result, we develop a computationally efficient method to calculate the reflectivity curve of a large deformed crystal. The validity of the method is demonstrated by comparing computed reflectivity curves with experimental ones for bent silicon wafers. A good agreement is observed.

Study on the reflectivity properties of spherically bent analyser crystals. Corrigendum

Corrections to the paper by Honkanen et al. (2014). [J. Synchrotron Rad. 21, 104-110] are made.

A finite element approach to x-ray optics design

Dynamical diffraction in a deformed (often bent) crystal is described by the Takagi equations 1 which, in general, have to be solved numerically on a regular 2-D grid of points representing a planar cross section of the crystal in which the diffraction of an incident X-ray wavefront occurs . Presently, the majority of numerical approaches are based on a finite difference solving scheme2-4 which can be easily implemented on a regular Cartesian grid but is not suitable for deformed meshes. In this case, the inner deformed crystal structure can be taken into account, but not the shape of the crystal surface if this differs substantially from a planar profile 5,6. Conversely, a finite element method (FEM) can be easily applied to a deformed mesh and serves very well to the purpose of modelling any incident wave on an arbitrarily shaped entrance surface 7 e.g. that of a bent crystal or a crystal submitted to a strong heat load 8-10. For instance, the cylindrical shape of the surface of a strongly bent crystal plate can easily be taken into account in a FEM calculation. Bent crystals are often used as focusing optical elements in Xray beamlines 11-13. In the following, we show the implementation of a general numerical framework for describing the propagation of X-rays inside a crystal based on the solution of the Takagi equations via the COMSOL Multiphysics FEM software package (www.comsol.com). A cylindrically bent crystal will be taken as an example to illustrate the capabilities of the new approach.

Resonant X-ray emission with a standing wave excitation

The Borrmann effect is the anomalous transmission of x-rays in perfect crystals under diffraction conditions. It arises from the interference of the incident and diffracted waves, which creates a standing wave with nodes at strongly absorbing atoms. Dipolar absorption of x-rays is thus diminished, which makes the crystal nearly transparent for certain x-ray wave vectors. Indeed, a relative enhancement of electric quadrupole absorption via the Borrmann effect has been demonstrated recently. Here we show that the Borrmann effect has a significantly larger impact on resonant x-ray emission than is observable in x-ray absorption. Emission from a dipole forbidden intermediate state may even dominate the corresponding x-ray spectra. Our work extends the domain of x-ray standing wave methods to resonant x-ray emission spectroscopy and provides means for novel spectroscopic experiments in d- and f-electron systems.