Aiming high – combining technologies
An interview with Simon Milner
Launched in 2015, the Zetium XRF spectrometer leads the market in high-quality design and innovative features for sub-ppm to percentage analysis of Be to Am. Not only the technology incorporated in Malvern Panalytical’s Zetium X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer is exciting but also the thoughts behind it. We asked one of Zetium’s creators, Simon Milner – Director of Elemental and Structural Analysis Portfolio, about this system and how it contributes to excellence.
Simon, what has driven the development of this XRF system?
The main driver for developing this system is our philosophy of providing our customers with technology and solutions that give them the edge in their endeavors, whether process optimization, quality control or research.
Zetium is more than just a wavelength dispersive spectrometer, it’s a unique combination of possibilities that puts it in a class of its own with respect to analytical speed and task flexibility. Furthermore, we have encapsulated application expertise in the form of turn-key solutions in the various Industry editions of the Zetium. This way Malvern Panalytical continues its long history of market leadership in this instrument segment.
Can you enlighten our readers of the meaning of Zetium?
Believe it or not, naming a system is one of the most difficult tasks. We derived the name from the Greek word ‘ζητω’ (zt), which means to search or inquire, and the common ending to many chemical element names ‘-ium’. Hence, Zetium, a powerful new element giving insight into our customers’ materials.
Not all of our customers might be familiar with the stages of developing such a machine. What people were involved and how long has this process taken?
Developing an instrument that needs to operate in customer process-critical environments is a huge task. The first people involved are our customers who give us valuable feedback on our products and services and how we can improve them.
But when the project kicks into gear literally all departments within the company are involved in some way or another. An instrument like the Zetium is years in the making: from the research and conceptual design phase to the development and elaboration of the hardware and software, the quality testing, drafting of documentation, training our production and service engineers and even designing the crate the system is shipped in. In fact, it’s dangerous to start listing all the departments involved in case I miss one – everyone is important!
Zetium is more than just a wavelength dispersive spectrometer, it’s a unique combination of possibilities that puts it in a class of its own with respect to analytical power, speed and task flexibility.
Simon Milner – Director of Elemental and Structural Analysis Portfolio
How and where can Zetium aim high?
Zetium is a platform concept with many performance-enhancing options that can be configured to match customer requirements. In its basic WDXRF form it is already a world-class product but features like the EDXRF core give users the best of both techniques.
Data accuracy has also been a key focus area for Zetium, with the implementation of the latest data correction algorithms giving outstanding results.
Lastly, we wanted to enhance the user experience in setting up and operating the system and we have further developed our software Virtual AnalystTM to simplify the operation of such a multi-technology platform.
What was the latest project the team worked on?
We’ve recently connected the Zetium to our Smart Manager platform. This is a cloud-based ‘control room’ which provides a clear picture of the utilization and health of the instrument, wherever they are in the world.
Could you give our readers a glimpse of other projects coming?
There will be continual updates throughout 2022. Follow one of our social media channels or subscribe to the email newsletter to stay updated about new applications or relevant product launches.
Simon Milner was born in England and studied Geology and Geochemistry to doctoral level. He gained his PhD at the University of Cape Town and worked for the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Namibia. As a geochemist, Simon gained experience in X-ray spectroscopy and was a PANalytical customer before joining the company in 2000.
Working as an application specialist and then a product manager, he became group leader of the XRF Product Marketing team and is now Director of Elemental and Structural Analysis Portfolio at Malvern Panalytical. In his 21 years with the company, Simon has overseen the introduction of much of Malvern Panalytical’s XRF product portfolio, for example, the EDXRF Epsilon range and Zetium’s predecessor, the Axios.
There’s more
The smallest details make a world of difference. Discover how we can help you advance in the fields of energy, additive manufacturing, nanomaterials, semiconductors, environment, academia and everything else novel materials related! Join the community and follow the latest news and developments on advanced materials: visit and follow.
Further reading