Thermo Adds Small-Spot Focus to Niton Analyzer

Thermo Electron Corp., based in Billerica, Mass., has announced the release of its new Niton XLt 797X XRF analyzer that offers small-spot focus capability.

According to Thermo, the product was designed with the feedback from customers within the electronics industry in mind. The analyzer features a “significantly smaller x-ray spot than that of any portable XRF (X-ray fluorescence) analyzer,” according to a press release from Thermo.

Thermo’s Niton Analyzers business unit has incorporated new proprietary x-ray tube technology and an internal color video camera into its popular portable Niton XLt 797 instrument. The XLt 797X with small-spot focus technology can identify, analyze and record the analytical results of small components, which was previously achievable with bench-top XRF analyzers only.

The analyzer will assist original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract manufacturers (CMs) and other industry partners in assuring that their components comply with the EU’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. The directive, which became effective July 1, prohibits electronics or electronic equipment containing materials, such as lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium, in excess of allowable detection limits.

“Thermo’s small-spot focus technology allows users to better pinpoint the analysis of solder joints and small components, especially on populated printed circuit boards (PCB’s) and other heterogeneous materials while maintaining the precision and fast analysis time that have always been a hallmark of Niton analyzers,” according to a press release from Thermo. “The Niton XLt 797X provides equivalent or better detection limits for all RoHS elements as those achieved with our standard XLt 797 analyzers,” the release adds.

The analyzer also includes a color CCD camera to locate, specify and save the image together with the chemical analysis of an individual component.

When this Niton XLt 797X analyzer is combined with a test stand and Thermo’s NDT remote control and video tracking software, it provides the functionality inline with bench-top units, according to Thermo.

The Niton 797X analyzer is available for on-site demonstration beginning September 2006 and is available for mid-October 2006 delivery.

More information is available at www.thermo.com.