report For the third time the conference PRORA "Prozessnahe Röntgenanalytik" took place on 24 and 25 November 2005 at Berlin's largest Science and Technology Campus Adlershof. Professor Langhoff, a managing director of IfG Institute for Scientific Instruments and Dr. Schönborn, chairperson of the network OptecBB for optical technologies in Berlin and Brandenburg opened the conference.
This conference established in 2001 takes place biannually and is dedicated to modern developments in the area of process analytics by X-rays. Beside industrial applications for mobile X-ray analytic devices already treated in the conferences before also the combination of different analytic procedures for the monitoring of technological processes was to be discussed in this year.
This german conference PRORA is generally established for the exchange of experience between users, scientists and manufacturers from analytical devices. The first two conferences in the years 2001 and 2003 have been attended by more than 100 participants each as well as from industry, research institutions and universities. In addition more than 10 manufacturing firms, like such well-known internationally active companies as PANalytical, RÖNTEC, and SPECTRO Analytical Instruments joined the accompanying industrial exhibition.
To this year's conference approx. 130 participants have been expected. On the industrial exhibition 17 companies presented their products. Beside the companies already acknowledged in particular the participation of the Bruker AXS GmbH, Karlsruhe is to mention. This company – an internationally leading offerer of X-ray analytic decvices – recently took over the ROENTEC AG. The former ROENTEC AG is now present as Bruker AXS Microanalysis GmbH Berlin. New exhibitors are among others also Oxford instruments, Helmut Fischer GmbH & CO. Kg, as well as the EFG GmbH Berlin, which represents the Japanese market leader Rigaku.
The conferences showed the grewing interest in compact, transportable x-ray units. An increasing number of users would like such kind of devices for their purposes and the manufacturers follow this demand by new developments. The trend was generally confirmed to the on- and in-line analytics. Specifically adapted solutions for different technological requirements are inquired. This demand can be obtained only by a modular structure of X-ray analytical devices.
Apart from the interest in instruments the progress in X-ray-analytic procedures and the calibration of sources and detectors for reliable results of measurement plays an important role in the industrial process analytics. These questions can be often answered only by use of synchrotron radiation. Furthermore the development of combined devices using different analytic procedures for the monitoring of technological processes has been observed.
The board of organizers contains of VDI/VDE – The Association of German Engineers, Optec-Berlin-Brandenburg (OpTecBB) – an initiative of companies, universities and scientific institutes to strengthening the economic power of the Berlin-Brandenburg region through joint activities using the potential of the optical technologies, Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM, Technology Foundation Berlin, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Technical University Berlin, European X-ray Spectrometry Association as well as IfG Institute for Scientific Instruments GmbH and Institute for applied photonics (IAP). IfG and IAP are responsible for the organization of the conference and the accompanying industrial and poster exhibition.
