The Bubble-Free Cell Insert is a simple, patented insert for the 40mm XRF liquid cell (3527 X-Cell) which prevents trapped air from forming a bubble under the window film when the cell is used in the upright position. The 3527I Bubble-Free Cell Insert is pushed into a cell before the sample is added, and forms an inverted-cone shelf under which air bubbles can be trapped once the cell is filled and sealed.

In many XRF systems, liquid cells are run in an inverted position, so any bubbles rise to the back of the cell and do not interfere with the analysis. The drawback of this “inverted optics” configuration is that if the window film ruptures, the sample can spill and potentially contaminate or damage the spectrometer. However, an increasing number of samples are being run in so-called “normal optics” XRF spectrometers, where the X-ray source is above the cell instead ofunderneath. Bubbles trapped during assembly of the cell can collect against the window, displacing the sample and attenuating the X-rays reaching the sample and emitted by it. To use an X-Cell fitted with a SPEX SamplePrep Bubble-Free Cell Insert, assemble the cell, invert it,
and tap it; any bubbles should rise through the hole in the insert, and when the cell is turned right-side-up the bubbles will be trapped below the insert’s shelf, away from the window film. Most but not all bubbles get into an X-Cell during assembly; some samples out-gas when heated by the X-ray beam. Tests have shown that a pinhole near the edge of the window film will allow such gases to escape without bulging or rupturing the film.

The 3527I Insert coupled with the 3527 X-Cell will fit normal optics XRF spectrometers available from Diano, Rigaku/USA, Inc. and Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, Inc.