A general Monte Carlo simulation of energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometers. Part 3. Polarized polychromatic radiation, homogeneous samples

Abstract

A general Monte Carlo (MC) code, capable of simulating photon-matter interactions in the energy range of 1–80 keV, has been adapted to model the behavior of synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF) spectrometers using polarized, polychromatic radiation as means of excitation. A brief description of the simulation method specific for polychromatic excitation is presented for homogeneous, multi-element samples. The code has been verified by comparing calculated spectral distributions of samples of various nature with experimentally collected data, taken at the bending magnet source based X26A SR-XRF beamline installed at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). Simulated results have also been compared with previously developed analytical calculations. Applications of the program in the field of quantitative analysis of biological and glass materials are presented and the use of the software to study the influence of the changes in the excitation-detection geometry on the predicted spectral distributions is demonstrated. Depending on the thickness and matrix type of the samples, the average deviations of the predicted fluorescent line and scatter background intensities relative to the experimentally obtained values are in the 3–12% range for homogeneous samples.