Basic principles of Synchrotron Radiation-Induced X-Ray Fluorescence (SRXRF)

Abstract

The characteristic x rays can be used as powerful analytical tools for qualitative and quantitative determination of the major, minor and trace composition of materials. X Ray Fluorescence (XRF) techniques used for almost four decade to solve many problems in basic, applied science, and in industry. The XRF techniques that were developed initially used crystal spectrometers, and are referred to in literature as Wavelength Dispersive (WD) techniques. These WD techniques are still used in many fields and have the merit of a excellent energy resolution that allows for the analysis of many elements while avoiding the overlapping of some fluorescence peaks. They are also particularly useful in a matrix that produces copious quantities of a particular radiation. The principal disadvantages of a WD system are the low efficiency of crystal and the reduced energy region in which crystal spectrometer can be used. In the 1960's, Solid State Detectors (SSD) were developed with energy resolution such that the Energy Dispersive XRF techniques could be developed. These SSD's overcame some of the limitations of the WD techniques. The most attractive characteristics of the EDXRF techniques are in their intrinsic multielemental and non destructive capabilities. The development of the high intensity, high brilliance Synchrotron Radiation (SR) sources have open the possibility to make microanalyses using the XRF techniques, increasing the interest of the scientific community for these techniques. In this paper the basic concepts of the XRF technique are reviewed taking in account the availability of the new sources of x rays. 32 refs., 7 figs.