AXT is pleased to announce that they have recently installed a Rigaku Ultima IV X-ray diffractometer (XRD) at the University of Auckland in the Faculty of Engineering. The new system will serve as a replacement and upgrade to their ageing system, facilitating researchers involved in a wide variety of endeavours.

Rigaku is recognised as a leader in X-ray analytical instrumentation. The Ultima IV is a highly versatile instrument capable of performing a range of analytical experiments to determine composition and phase assemblage. It includes Rigaku’s patented Cross Beam Optics (CBO) which allow the user to quickly switch between parallel and focused beam geometries to suit their specific experiments.

The diffractometer is a fundamental piece of research infrastructure that services a large user base. As such, the Ultima IV acquisition was funded internally by the University.

The bulk of the users are postgraduates carrying out high-end research projects, primarily in the area of materials science and advanced materials. The Ultima IV is currently being heavily used with undergraduate project students booking up capacity as they complete their projects. The system will also be used to carry out consulting work for commercial clients.

Dr. Alec Asadov, Technical Officer at the University of Auckland was key to the instrument selection process. “The Ultima IV satisfied our technical requirements and came in at a price we could afford. In particular, this mid-sized system fits the space we had available and it also offered us the flexibility to purchase other attachments and accessories down the track to expand its capabilities”, said Dr. Asadov.

Richard Trett, Managing Director at AXT commented, “Rigaku XRD technologies have had a rapid uptake in Australia as they have shown unmatched performance and flexibility. This is the first of the current generation of instruments that we have installed in New Zealand and we are confident that the Ultima IV will provide a high quality platform for University of Auckland researchers to generate publication quality data and perform cutting edge research. We look forward to working with the University of Auckland into the future as they join a host of larger SmartLab XRD installations in the Australia/New Zealand region.”

AXT distributes a range of Rigaku instruments in Australia and New Zealand ranging from XRD, XRF and radiographic testing. XRDs constitute part of AXT’s portfolio of analytical instruments.