X-ray fluorescence measuring system making use of polarized excitation radiation, and X-ray tube

摘要

The invention relates to X-ray fluorescence measuring systems, more specifically to methods for producing polarized X-radiation. The invention is based on the idea of using beryllium as the anode material despite its poor effectiveness. Some of the X-radiation spectrum produced by a beryllium anode is polarized radiation, more specifically its high-energy portion. The system of the invention involves filtering out the low-energy portion of the spectrum, whereby the remaining intensely polarized radiation can be used as excitation radiation in X-ray fluorescence measurements. The system of the invention is capable of achieving a certain intensity of polarized X- radiation by means of an X-ray tube less powerful than those used in common prior art solutions based on the use of scattering media. IMAGE