Validation of the Geant4 Monte Carlo package for X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy in triaxial geometry

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the potential of the Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation package for retrieving accurate elemental concentrations from energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectra. For this purpose, we implemented a Geant4 code that simulates an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer in a triaxial geometry. In parallel, we also performed measurements in a spectrometer with the same geometry, for validation of the present code. This spectrometer allows low limits of detection and permits an effective comparison of elemental concentrations down to tens of part-per-million. Several standard reference materials of both light, medium and heavy matrices were employed in order to attest the validity of simulations for several values of averaged atomic number. We observed good agreement of better than 25% for most fluorescence lines of interest, and for all materials. Discrepancies were observed at the multiple Compton scattering tail. We thus concluded from this experimental and theoretical study that the present Geant4 code can be incorporated in a quantitative method for the determination of trace elements in a triaxial-type spectrometer.