Collecting XAFS spectra at soft X-ray energies in a heated loop cell up to1600 K

A new device to collect in-situ-, high-temperature XAFS spectra is presente d which runs at low x-ray energies (K edges from Na to Cl). XAFS data is co llected in the fluorescence mode (Ge solid state detector) using a heated l oop that contains the sample. The actual temperature is measured using an o ptical pyrometer and a thermocouple (temperatures are +/- 20 K at 1500 K). The first XAFS spectra were collected at the Si K-edge, with 0.2 eV steps, on the ABS1 spectrometer at Super-AGO (LURE, Orsay). The study of the melti ng of a Na2Si2O5 glass is an example of the possibilities offered by this n ew area of research.