Rigaku SmartLab® wins 2006 R&D 100 Award
The Woodlands, TX — March 13, 2006. Rigaku Americas Corporation is pleased to announce that the Rigaku SmartLab Automatic X-Ray Diffractometer has won the 2006 R&D 100 Award. Presented annually for 43 years by R&D Magazine, the R&D 100 Award is a mark of excellence known to industry, government, and academia as proof that a product is one of the most innovative ideas of the year.
The Rigaku SmartLab is the first X-ray diffractometer to offer the full
range of X-ray diffraction measurements in one fully automated tool suitable
for use by the non-specialist. The device incorporates unique intelligent
software and patented optics that allows users, without any special
expertise, to perform a variety of advanced measurements critical to
advanced materials research: from X-ray diffraction (XRD) to X-ray
reflectivity (XRR) to small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and more. The
design goal was to create an instrument that provides more detailed
materials research information to a broader array of researchers while
reducing instrumentation and personnel related bottlenecks. This advance
serves both to more rapidly advance research and to enable faster
commercialization of technology.
A theta-theta geometry, horizontal sample mount, high resolution, high power X-ray diffractometer, the SmartLab system can address the full range of sample types (bulk solids, liquids, powders, thin films and multi-layers) and offers the complete range of structural X-ray measurements. Intelligent automation is at the heart of the SmartLab design. The Guidance™ software engine is used to automate all processes. It suggests the best optical configuration for each application and then runs automatically.
About the R&D 100 Award
The R&D 100 Awards were established in 1963 with the key criterion for winning being "technological significance." All entries are judged by outside experts chosen from among professional consultants, university faculty, and industrial researchers with superior expertise and experience in the areas they are judging. Over the years, the R&D 100 Awards have recognized winning products with such household names as Polacolor® film (1963), the flashcube (1965), the automated teller machine (1973), the halogen lamp (1974), the fax machine (1975), the liquid crystal display (1980), the printer (1986), the Kodak® Photo CD (1991), the Nicoderm® antismoking patch (1992), Taxol® anticancer drug (1993), lab on a chip (1996), and HDTV (1998).
Rigaku—Leading With Innovation
Since its inception in Japan in 1951, Rigaku has been at the forefront of analytical and industrial instrumentation technology. Rigaku and its subsidiaries form a global group focused on life sciences and general purpose analytical instrumentation. With hundreds of major innovations to its credit, Rigaku and its subsidiary companies are world leaders in the fields of small molecule and protein crystallography, X-ray spectrometry and diffraction, X-ray optics, as well as semiconductor metrology. Rigaku employs over 1,100 people in the manufacture and support of its analytical equipment. Its products are in use in more than 70 countries—supporting research, development, and quality assurance activities. Throughout the world, Rigaku continuously promotes partnerships, dialog, and innovation within the global scientific and industrial community.
For further information, contact:
Thomas F. McNulty
XRD Marketing Director
Rigaku Americas, Inc.
(281) 362-2300 x207