Scientists from institutions such as Ohio University,Argonne National Laboratory,and the University of Illinois at Chicago have captured single atom X-ray signals for the first time.The related research was published in Nature on May 31st.

  In the latest study,Wei Hara and others from the Argonne National Laboratory inserted an iron atom and a terbium atom into their respective molecular hosts.To detect the X-ray signal emitted by individual atoms,they added a specialized detector made of sharp metal tips located near the sample to the X-ray detector to collect electrons excited by X-rays.When X-rays are irradiated on atoms,the electrons in the core energy level are excited and tunnel to the detector tip through overlapping atomic/molecular orbitals,revealing the relevant information of the atoms through the obtained spectral energy.
  The research team stressed that this breakthrough will open up a new Xintiandi in the field of X-ray and nano science.The use of X-ray detection and characterization of individual atoms may lead to new technologies in fields such as quantum information,environmental and medical research,and trace element detection.This achievement has also opened the way for the development of advanced materials science instruments.