Author: Andrew Mackintosh; Cheif Executive, Oxford Instruments plc. – Foreword on the alliance between Oxford Instruments plc. and HORIBA, Ltd.. (Same content is in Readout No.22-Japanese edition-.)

Author: Hidehito Obayashi; Administrative Officer, Hitachi, Ltd.; Kozo Ishida; Senior Managing Director (HORIBA); Koichi Matsumoto – Taking Japanese swords as an example, American metallography scientist C. S. Smith once said, "If the Japanese people had devoted all their energies to science and the Europeans had been outstanding engineers, the history of metallography would have been quite different." At the draw of a new century, in the midst of a period of accelerated globalization, Dr. Hidehito OBAYASHI of Hitachi, Ltd., and Dr. Kozo ISHIDA of Horiba, Ltd. have discussed on the perspectives of measurement businesses and technology alliances. (Same content in Japanese is in Readout No.22-Japanese edition-.)

Author: Kenichi Obori – "Ultra Quick Supplier :UQS" is the key word for Horiba's cooperate activities. We　recognize that our most important role　as a manufacturer of measuring instruments is to supply products and service quickly to customers based on a clear grasp of the market needs of 21st century which is changing drastically. This paper introduces how is developing products and technologies for analytical instruments for R&D and quality control, focusing on X-ray instruments. It also shows some examples in which alliance is effective to achieve UQS. (Same content in Japanese is in Readout No.22-Japanese edition-.)

Author: Toshikazu Yurugi, Sukehiro Ito; Hitachi Science Systems, Ltd.,; Yohinori Numata*1, Keith Sykes; Oxford Instruments plc. – In the laboratories today, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is nearly always used in combination with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDX). In the past, when functionally independent SEM and EDX were combined for analysis, equipment operation was complex and the operator had to master the different operations for each instrument. HORIBA, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., and Oxford Instruments, plc have joined together, each utilizing their own areas of technical expertise, to create the SEMEDX Series of SEM/EDX-integrated analysis systems, which have been designed so that any operator can achieve simple operation, fast, clear SEM observation, and accurate EDX analysis. In this paper I shall introduce the various feature functions of the SEMEDX. (Same content in Japanese is in Readout No.22-Japanese edition-.)

Author: Akimichi Kira, Neal Robson; Oxford Instruments plc. – Recent years have witnessed rapidly growing needs for the precise elemental analysis of steel, ceramics, organisms, foods, and other materials in various fields, and considerable attention has been focused on X-ray fluorescence element analyzers. As the market for these analyzers expands, demand is also growing for new features that allow easy access by any user in addition to the excellent features of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, which enable non-destructive analysis with minimal or no sample preparation. HORIBA, Ltd. has released the MESA-500 series of element analyzer products, focusing on the ultimate target of usability based on EDX. Oxford Instruments plc has put on the market the MDX-1000 series of element analyzers, which pack the features of both EDX and WDX in a compact instrument . This article provides an introduction to the features and applications for each of these product series. (Same content in Japanese is in Readout No.22-Japanese edition-.)

Author: Katumi Nagasawa; Akihiro Hirano; Sumiyo Ishikawa – Recently, the request from a customer to the analytical instruments maker is not only to supply the good products but also to offer the know-how for analysis. An inexperienced engineer will be able to get the precise and reliable data using these know-how. The HORIBA Application Center has been endeavor to accumulate the analytical knowhow for various samples using Horiba's products. In this paper we will report roles of the Application Center through the customer service of the XGT-2700W X-ray analytical microscope that is very useful for elemental analysis. (Same content in Japanese is in Readout No.22-Japanese edition-.)