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Simultaneous and complementary use of XRF and PIXE techniques at the Rudjer Boskovic Institute external ion beam analysis end-station

The Rudjer Boskovic Institute (RBI) Tandem Accelerator Facility is used for characterization of materials by ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques, for modification of materials and for nuclear physics experiments. Analytical techniques like Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE), Particle Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE) and Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS) can be used simultaneously. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is a technique complementary to PIXE. They both offer high analytical potential for fast nondestructive multi-elemental characterization. Due to the different excitation mechanisms, PIXE generally exhibits higher sensitivity for lighter elements and XRF for heavier, whereas they also have different in-sample depth sensitivities. With the development of miniature, low power and lightweight X-ray tubes it is possible to incorporate an X-ray source within the IBA setup and combine the two techniques for simultaneous use, employing the same data acquisition modules. Recently we incorporated an XRF spectrometer at the RBI external ion beam analysis end-station. A miniature transmission X-ray tube has been installed and properly positioned in order to irradiate the same spot on the sample as the ion beam. The home made data acquisition system SPECTOR, used regularly for the IBA measurements, has been also used to acquire the XRF spectra. First measurements were performed with the standard Si(Li) detector. Installation of the SDD spectrometer allowed the acquisition of XRF and PIXE spectra at much higher count rates. Test measurements have been carried out on various samples using PIXE and XRF in combination with Si(Li) and SDD detectors. Simultaneous 2-dimensional PIXE/XRF elemental x-ray imaging has been tested on various objects. The work has been carried out with the hypothesis that when PIXE and XRF are unified into one integrated set up, their complementarities can enhance the analytical capabilities of each single analytical technique (PIXE or XRF) improving the usefulness of the obtained results.

XRF ; PIXE ; external ion beam

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