E-Lux™

Brilliant Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) Light Sources

Key Features

  • Exceptional brilliance
  • Highly stable light output
  • Small and well defined focal light spot
  • Pulse and cw operation
  • High repetition rates
  • Long lamp life
  • “Cold” emission, no heating-up of samples
  • High efficiency, low energy consumption
  • No X-ray hazard
  • Compact design for mobile applications
  • Air-cooling
  • Fully computer-controlled & easy handling

Innovative Technology

The vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light sources E-Lux™ use an innovative and advantageous concept of VUV light generation: Pure rare gases or rare gas mixtures at elevated pressures are excited by low energy electron beams. Its brilliance and flexible performance makes the E-Lux™ a powerful solution for any photophysical and photochemical application.

 

Applications

  • Photoionization source for ion mobility and mass spectrometry applications (SPI-GC/MS, APPI-LC/MS etc.)
  • Photophysical & photochemical studies
  • Planning of synchrotron experiments in the lab
  • Potential applications:
    • Surface treatment & analysis (curing and matting of polymers, optical chemical vapor deposition, surface cleaning or etching)
    • Surface metrology (spectroscopic reflectometry & ellipsometry)
    • Medical applications (tissue engineering & biomaterial science)

 

 

 

Brilliance & Beam Quality
The E-Lux™ vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light sources open up new dimensions in brilliance: A total photon flux of up to 2·10 16 photons/s (cw operation) and a small emission volume of less than 1 mm 3 makes the E-Lux™ to an ideal VUV radiation source for demanding applications. The brilliance is even increased by a factor of 100 when working in pulse mode. The user interface allows for an easy adjustment of the emitted light intensity. This feature gives you the opportunity to always select optimal experimental conditions.
A small emission area of only 1 mm in diameter is easy to refocus onto a target area with high precision, which is a major prerequisite for many applications. A large accessible emission angle offers high photon fluxes and gives you maximum flexibility in using your own optics. For refocusing you can also use the E-Lux TM EEM Optical Module which is available as optional accessory and can be easily mounted to the E-Lux™ as well as to your setup by means of standard vacuum flanges.


Pulse and CW Operation
The E-Lux™ can be operated in full cw as well as in pulse mode. Within pulse mode the user can choose between single pulses and repetition rates of up to 10 kHz. Depending on the repetition rate, pulse lengths can be set between 1 to 100 μs and 1 ms to cw. The computer-controlled power supply allows for internal as well as for external pulsing (lock-in, pulse-probe etc.).


Efficiency
The E-Lux TM comes with an outstanding conversion efficiency of beam power into light of up to 40 %. The result is a compact design with high performance, but low energy consumption. Because there is no need of water cooling, the VUV light source is also ideal for mobile applications.


Emission Characteristics
Customers can choose between five different lamp types with central emission wavelengths ranging from 116 to 172 nm (7.2 to 10.7 eV). With the exception of the E-Lux TM 121 (emission from the H 2 Lyman-α band), the VUV radiation is comprised of the excimer emission of rare gases or rare gas mixtures. This leads to a broadband emission with a bandwidth of around 10 nm. The range of photon energies of the VUV radiation supplied by the different E-Lux™ models corresponds to the ionization potentials (IPs) of many organic compounds (typically between 7 to 12 eV) as well as to the dissociation energies of selected molecular bonds. This and the outstanding performance of the E-Lux™ VUV lamps make them ideal for single-photon ionization (SPI) in combination with mass or ion mobility spectrometry. However the E-Lux™ VUV lamps will also find application in the fields of fundamental photophysical research or material science.


Stable Light Output
Light output remains stable over the entire lamp life of 1000 h. The innovative operating principle of electron-beam induced light emission prevents well-known stability problems of other commercial VUV lamps, such as electrode burn-off. Moreover, there is no need of readjustment of the optical axis due to arc point shift, leading to highly stable light emission over space and time.


Instant On/Off
Ignition or termination problems of other commercial VUV lamps are overcome, since light emission follows directly the fast and easy to modulate electron beam.


"Cold" Radiation
An inherent feature of the E-Lux TM is the emission of “cold” VUV radiation. This is of a great advantage for measurements of samples that are sensitive to heat.

 

E-Lux™ EPU

E-Lux EPU

The E-Lux™ VUV lamp systems are designed for a stable light output and a variety of operation modes that can be exactly selected to the users needs. The E-Lux™ EPU power supply fulfills all requirements for a safe and reliable operation and is prerequisite to operate the E-Lux™ VUV lamps.

E-Lux™ Software

E-Lux Software

The E-Lux™ software allows for an user-friendly and safe operation of the E-Lux™ VUV lamp system. Necessary parameters, like the voltages applied on the electron tube, are automatically set and controlled. A damage of the system due to improper settings is therefore excluded. All lamp parameters are monitored in a separate information window. The operation software requires a PC or laptop (2 GHz / 2 GB RAM) running Windows XP® and an USB 2.0 interface.

E-Lux™ EEM

E-Lux EEM

The E-Lux™ can be coupled directly to any device offering a suited flange. However the brilliant emission spot inspires the use of a focusing optics to drastically increase the photon density on the target. The E-Lux™ EEM Optical Module uses a 90° ellipsoidal mirror with 1:1 imaging ratio. The standard E-Lux™ EEM is designed for a focal length of f = 120 mm. Other focal lengths are available on request.