TERRA . Portable XRD Analyzer

The TERRA Mobile XRD System, a high performing, completely contained, battery operated, closed-beam portable XRD, provides full phase ID of major, minor and trace components with a qualitative XRF scan of elements Ca – U. Its unique, minimal sample prep technique and sample chamber allow for fast, in-field analysis.

Patented Technology From NASA and Olympus

Initially conceived to perform chemical and mineralogical testing for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, Olympus’ TERRA is a rugged, fully portable field instrument which harnesses advanced dual XRD/XRF technology and renders it for earthbound applications. Combining both Olympus and NASA innovation, TERRA brings to life a new way of performing X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence measurements.

Using a specifically developed direct excitation charge coupled device (CCD) “camera”, TERRA is able to collect X-ray photon data for both X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence simultaneously. This is the result of the integrated camera’s ability to detect both photon position and photon energy at the same time. With energy resolution of ~200 eV (5.9 keV), TERRA makes XRF analysis as simple as viewing the software spectrum display.

Easy Sample Preparation

TERRA radically simplifies sample collection for your X-ray diffraction experiments. Typically, a sample must be finely ground and pressed into a pellet in order to ensure a sufficiently random orientation of the crystals.

TERRA’s patented sample vibration chamber eliminates this issue. Requiring a mere 15 mg sample, the vibration chamber’s convection process presents the instrument optics with multifarious orientations of the crystalline structure. This results in a superb X-ray diffraction pattern, virtually free of the problematic preferred-orientation effects encountered when using classic preparation methods.

Due to its unique powder-handling system, nonmechanical goniometers, and lack of complicated moving parts, TERRA is extremely well suited for those applications where field portability and/or ease of use is at issue.