La/B4C small period multilayer interferential mirror for the analysis of boron

摘要

An La/B4C multilayer interferential mirror with small period d (4.8 nm) was produced by diode sputtering for the detection of the boron K emission by wavelength-dispersive x-ray spectrometry at a large Bragg angle (close to 45°). The structure of the mirror was characterized by grazing incidence x-ray reflectometry and its performance at the energy of the boron K emission (183 eV) was evaluated by means of polarized synchrotron radiation. Spectrometric measurements showed that the La/B4C mirror improved the detection limit of boron using by a factor of 2 with respect to similar Mo/B4C mirrors and by a factor of 4 with respect to a lead stearate crystal. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.