Join Us at Goldschmidt 2026

Oxford Instruments will be exhibiting at Goldschmidt 2026, where we’ll be showcasing our latest innovations for geochemical research.

Visit us at the conference to meet our experts and discover how our advanced analysis solutions can help you characterize materials accurately and efficiently—down to the nanoscale. By combining high‑performance instruments with powerful, intuitive software, we enable deeper insight and faster results for geochemical applications.

Featured Technologies include:

Electron Microscopy

• Comprehensive nano‑scale characterization solutions including BEX, EDS, and EBSD, designed for use on SEM, TEM, and FIB systems across a wide range of geochemical workflows.
• Confocal Raman Imaging Microscopes 
  • High‑resolution 2D and 3D chemical characterization using Raman microscopes, with options for correlative integration with AFM, SEM, SNOM, and Raman‑based particle analysis systems.

Poster Presentation

Wednesday, July 15, 2026 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

High-Quality X-ray Mapping of Pristine Extraterrestrial Samples: A New SEM Workflow Leveraging the BEX Technique

George Stonadge

Here, we present a new approach for discovering rare phases within highly topographic, unprepared, and uncoated samples. Our method uses SEM‑BEX (combined backscattered electron and X‑ray imaging), demonstrated on an exceptionally rare angrite meteorite, to show how the technique can exceed the capabilities of EDS when analysing delicate or rare samples with high‑topography and low‑signal beam conditions [1,2,3].

Backscattered electron and X-ray mapping was performed at 15 kV and 4 nA under variable‑pressure conditions (35 Pa) to mitigate charging. The BEX detector geometry, positioned beneath the pole piece, reduces X‑ray shadowing from uneven surface topography and enhances X-ray mapping speeds under these compromised beam conditions. This enabled >4.5 cm² of high‑resolution (2.5 µm pixel size) elemental mapping to be acquired in just four hours.

This high-resolution dataset revealed ten <50 µm zircon grains dispersed across the sample surface—an exceptionally rare phase in angrites and the first documented occurrence within this meteorite class. Quantitative EDS confirmed zircon composition for multiple grains. These non‑destructive large‑area maps will now guide targeted FIB lift‑out for subsequent isotopic analyses, including U–Pb geochronology. Thus, a targeted and method for removing minute volumes of sample for destructive chemical and/or isotopic analyses has been made practical.

Our work demonstrates a highly effective workflow for the analysis of returned samples and other extraterrestrial materials, showing how advances in instrumentation and mapping techniques can unlock critical mineralogical information while fully preserving sample integrity. With its high flexibility and user‑friendly SEM interface, BEX is a strong candidate for widespread mineralogical and elemental characterisation within extraterrestrial sample‑analysis workflows.

[1] Buckman et al. (2025), Journal of Microscopy, 298(3), pp.254-261.

[2] Webb et al. (2025), Scientific Reports (15), 44361.

[3] Menke et al. (2025), arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.09466.