METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING TRACE ELEMENTS IN A SUBSTANCE THROUGH X-RAY FLUORESCENCE

摘要

A method and apparatus for trace element analysis of substances employs total reflection of an x-ray excitation beam which creates fluorescence in a sample of the substance. A thin sample (35) is located on a reflecting surface of a sample support (33) and is irradiated with x-ray radiation from an x-ray source (31) through an x-ray waveguide (40) at a grazing angle of incidence. A detector (36) is positioned above the sample to capture the fluorescence radiation emitted by the sample, and spectral analysis is used to identify trace elements.