Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis Under Various Experimental Conditions

✍ Scribed by G. Bernasconi; M. Dargie; M. M. Jaib; A. Tajani

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 710 KB
• Volume: 26
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0049-8246
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4539(199707)26:4<203::aid-xrs213>3.0.co;2-e

✦ Synopsis

Total reÑection x-ray Ñuorescence (TXRF) is a well established analytical technique which excels in the determination of trace elements in liquid samples with extremely low detection limits. In TXRF analysis, the use of di †erent techniques to modify the excitation energy spectrum and to collimate the x-ray beams has been reported in the past. All these techniques require that the alignment of the TXRF set-up is optimized in order to obtain the maximum ratio between Ñuorescence signals and background, i.e., the lowest detection limit. Owing to the fact that total reÑection conditions demand very small incident angles (a few mrad), the alignment of the spectrometer and further optimization of the geometry proved to be difficult and time consuming. In order to overcome these difficulties, a TXRF spectrometer with computer-assisted control of the reÑector position which is capable of being conÐgured for di †erent experimental conditions was constructed. In this paper, the spectrometer was used to compare the e †ect that di †erent spectrum modiÐcation techniques have on the sensitivity and detection limits of di †erent intermediate-Z elements.