Australia continues to occupy a leading position in the global research community. AXT continue to identify and source the latest technologies to assist the Australian research community with maintaining their position at the cutting edge. Consequently, they have teamed up with Exum Instruments and now offer their unique Massbox^TM, Laser Ablation, Laser Ionisation Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (LALI-TOF-MS) Instrument.

US-based Exum Instruments have patented LALI-TOF-MS technology which provides chemical analysis with trace element sensitivity. The technology overcomes the limitations of other elemental analytical techniques, delivering results in mere minutes via a user-friendly, intuitive interface.

Exum Instruments was founded in 2017 by Jeff Williams. Disillusioned with shortcomings of existing analytical techniques, he developed LALI-TOF-MS technology. LALI-TOF-MS can take any solid material and rapidly identify the full periodic table of its constituents. Packaged into a compact, desktop instrument, the Massbox^TM delivers:

1. Quantitative analysis – down to trace level for all elements in the periodic table
2. Elemental mapping – on areas up to 83x83mm down to 5µm resolution
3. Depth profiling – ideal for analysis of surface modifications, the systems’ laser typically removed 10’s of nanometers per shot
4. Rapid screening – Ultrafast analysis allows users to identify unknown materials or detect trace elements in just seconds

AXT’s Managing Director, Richard Trett said, “when I first learned about the Massbox^TM I was extremely excited about its potential to disrupt existing technologies. My expectations have been confirmed by high-profile researchers who I have spoken to about the Massbox^TM and its capabilities. This instrument could very well shake up several fields such as materials science, battery research, chemistry, environmental and earth science. In fact, we are looking at installing one in our Automated Mineralogy Incubator facility in Perth due to its potential in the mining and mineral sector.”

Exum’s CEO and CTO, Jeff Williams said, “from my background in cosmochemistry, I got to use nearly every analytical instrument in the field. This experience inspired me to start a company focused on transforming the way solid samples are analysed. I am thrilled and proud to have AXT represent our Massbox^TM and help us grow across different market segments. We are especially excited to leverage their expertise in the mining and mineral sector and we look forward to working in partnership with AXT.”

The Massbox^TM from Exum Instruments is now available from AXT. They will showcase it for the first time at the 25^th International Mass Spectrometry Convention that will be held in Melbourne from August 17 to 23.

For more information on the Massbox^TM, please visit the Massbox^TM product page.

	Ease of Use	Light Elements	Metallic Elements	Sensitivity	Speed	Chemical Mapping	Quantitative
MASSBOX	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
LA-ICP-MS			○	○		○	○
ICP-MS*			○	○			○
Inert gas fusion/combustion	◒	○			○		○
XRF	◒		○		○		◒
SEM-EDX	○	◒	○		○	◒