The historical development of the thermoelectrically cooled X-ray detector and its impact on the portable and hand-held XRF industries (February 2009)

摘要

Portable/hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrumentsnowachieve performance comparable to laboratory-sized, expensive, liquid nitrogen cooled systems. The availability of these systems has expanded XRF applications out of the laboratory to in situ analysis including that for lead in paint, alloy identification, process control, restriction of hazardous substances/waste from electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS/WEEE) compliance, and art and archaeology. The development of small, low-power, high-performance, and cost-effective X-ray detectors was a critical part of this transformation. This paper will look back at the development and technical achievements of the Amptek X-ray detector as well the future direction of portable XRF.