Azimuthal-rotation sample holder for molecular orientation analysis.

In this study, an azimuthal-rotation sample holder compatible with scanning transmission X-ray microscopy was developed. This holder exhibits improvement in the accuracy of rotation angles and reduces the displacement of the rotation axes during azimuthal rotation by using a crossed roller bearing. To evaluate the performance of the holder, the authors investigated the dependence of the optical density around the C K-edge absorption of π-orbital-oriented domains in natural spherical graphite on the rotational angle by using linearly horizontally and vertically polarized undulator radiation. Based on the dependence of the optical density ratio between C 1s → π* and 1s → σ* excitation on the polarization angle of the X-rays, the average two-dimensional orientation angle of the π orbital in each position in a natural spherical graphite sample was visualized.