X-ray spectrometry in the eighties

Abstract

X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy anno 1983 is a superb analytical technique which allows precisions of one part in 2000. The main impediments to reaching this accuracy are sampling and sample preparation. Nevertheless, very accurate results can be obtained on a wide variety of materials. After fusion, a wide range of oxides can be analyzed using one calibration. Recent advances in analytical instrumentation will further contribute to improved performance for specific analytical problems. the scandium side window tube is the first of a series of side window tubes which will greatly enhance light element performance. The developement of multilayer technology shows great promise for the improvement of light to ultra-light element dispersion. Advances in detector technology will mainly be reached through selecting gas detectors per element range, and the use of high resolution gas detectors such as the gas scintillation proportional counter. Data treatment will show improvements through the increased use of fundamental parameter methods using theoretical alphas, on-line fundemental parameter calculations, or a combination of both. In addition, there will be a strongly increasing use of laboratory management systems which handle the automatic logging of samples and combine the XRF results with results from other techniques. Hardware in Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) has not shown major changes in recent years. The use of room temperature HgI 2 detectors with a resolution around 400 eV could be usefull for sorting or identification applications. In the field of EDS, some extremely usefull software packages have been developed. These include packages for the analysis of samples without standards, and packages to analyse coatings.