X-Ray Diffraction Analysis Device Minimizes Sample Preparation  

inXitu, Inc. 

Mountain View, CA 
 

• inXitu designed and built an Automated Sample Handling (ASH) system for planetary X-Ray Diffraction instruments that enables quality analysis of coarse-grained materials; X-Ray Diffraction finds the geometry or shape of a molecule using x-rays
• The ASH system allows direct analysis of materials obtained from drills or rock crushers, eliminating the need for extensive sample preparation
• Sample loading and removal have been automated without complex mechanisms and with a minimum of moving parts

• inXitu rapidly evolved throughout the SBIR Phase II research, starting as a sole proprietorship and growing to 10 employees
• Critical findings of the SBIR Phase II were applied to the MSL CheMin instrument (a flight instrument included in the analytical laboratory of Mars Science Laboratory (2009)), enabling robust operation of its sample handling system

• inXitu is commercializing the first truly portable XRD instrument based on the technology developed during this Phase II
• inXitu’s ASH system has a wide range of applications in R&D and industrial laboratories as a means to load powdered samples for analysis or process control
• Potential industries include chemical, cement, inks, pharmaceutical, and ceramics
• Additional potential applications include characterizing materials that cannot be ground to a fine size, such as explosives and research pharmaceuticals
• Forensic scientists have expressed a strong interest in this technology for both laboratory and field instruments because the sample handling system can be used in forensics to analyze small quantities of paint pigments, synthetic materials, and soils
• A US patent is being written based on discoveries resulting from this SBIR Phase II

• Some features of the ASH system have already been implemented in the CheMin instrument developed at NASA/ARC for the Mars Science Laboratory (2009) mission, NASA’s next flagship mission to Mars
• A flight-worthy evolution of the ASH would enable smaller XRD instruments to be deployed in landed missions with limited payload (e.g., Discovery, Scout, or Small Satellite)
• Other NASA applications include isolation glove box XRD systems to analyze returned samples
• The ASH system could be used in Homeland Security applications in which hazardous materials are analyzed in laboratory glove boxes or by remote robotic systems in the field

Return to NASA SBIR Success Listings