XRF Wiki
Welcome to the XRF Wiki. This Wiki is a repository of information contributed by members of [email protected]. Members can view and edit the pages. The pages are currently not viewable by the public. The pages below represent a rough overview of the technology and techniques associated with X-Ray Florescence Spectroscopy as well as serving as a place for members to organize the spectra that they have contributed to the forum.?
As a starting point, the pages will be populated by information taken from member posts from the past few years - with references/attribution. Perhaps in time, these pages can be edited by members to make them more complete and less choppy. Members can also edit this page, making the structure of the content more organized.?
Pages can contain information about a particular topic, links to relevant resources (such as manuals, research papers, etc.), links to relevant forum discussions on the topic, book titles, or anything that might be useful.
What follows is very much a work in progress.
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Adding to the Wiki
For those unfamiliar with the Wiki phenomenon, it is basically a user editable encyclopedia. The idea is that there are pages with different articles, which the user can read and also choose to edit if desired. If a piece of information is incorrect, a link outdated, or the presentation choppy or unclear, the user can just click "Edit Page" at the bottom and then fix the mistake. There is also a "Page History," so if you a user were to make a mistake or maliciously destroy a page (which wouldn't happen here) an editor can come along and restore the page to a previous version.?
If you have used MediaWiki (the engine that runs behind the scene of Wikipedia.org) you will be familiar with a certain style of creating an article. There are tags that one uses to change the formatting of the parts of the article. The Wiki on Groups.io uses a different background engine and so the standard MediaWiki syntax does not apply here. Rather, the page is edited using the same tools as one would use to compose a message on the forums. If you are a programmer or someone who likes using the tagged syntax directly, you can access the underlying page source code, be activating the advanced editing toolbar (the icon with three lines on the far right of the basic toolbar) and then clicking on the source code icon <> on the far right of the Advance Editing Toolbar. You will immediately notice that the underlying source code is HTML. Most things can be done just by using the various icons, but advanced features like table can only be implemented by manually writing the source code. (Although there are website available that will generate the source code for you through a graphical interface.)
Here are some useful resources from Groups.io:?
Wiki Guide for Users and Editors
Message Composition Tips and Tricks
Overview of XRF
X-Ray Florescence vs. X-Ray Diffraction
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Hardware
This section describes the hardware used for XRF. We will describe the basic theory of operation of each stage in the processing tool chain and then present different commercial systems that are available as these systems are often integrated together.
[Editor note: General theory needs to be in an independent page separate from specific manufacturer information.
[Editor note - question: Should this be arranged by category, e.g detectors, preamps, etc or by manufacturer with the manufacturers product line on one page. Perhaps it's best to put a list of products with theory but the details of the products on a manufacture page...]
Detectors?- what's available, theory of operation, tradeoffs
Detector Cooling?- keeping detectors cool to avoid thermal noise and keeping the TEC from overheating
Preamps?- theory of operation, brief summary of what out there (and what not to do - such as trying to use a PMT preamp for a SiPIN diode...)
Pulse Processing Theory - high level overview of the stages of going from detector pulse to channel peaks on the computer
Commercial Systems - many commercial systems are integrated so it seems to make sense to present, for example all Amptek products together. [question: are their other affordable integrated systems besides Amptek?]
Amptek XRF System
Activation Sources - what do you use to make the sample fluoresce (that's within the amateur budget and doesn't require special licensing)
Software
- Device Control Software - what do you use to collect the data from the detector system
- XRF Analysis Software - what do you use to analyze the data, especially for quantitative measurements (composition percentages, thin film measurement)
- Free Software Tools
Note: there may be software packages that possess some or all of these characteristics.
Materials Spectra
Metals Spectra
Historic/Archeological Spectra
Reference Materials Spectra
Household Objects Spectra
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Resources
Videos
Articles
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Non-XRF Techniques
Gamma Spectroscopy
Raman Spectroscopy
FTIR - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
Inductively Coupled Atomic Emission Spectroscopy
Spark Emission Spectroscopy
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
LIBS - Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
Photoacoustic Spectroscopy
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Re: FW: [XRF] 59.5keV spectrum cleanup
I agree, and we can't expect anything below ~2keV in air, but what this shows me is with a helium atmosphere, we could have a shot at down to 1. I tried propane (once) and it changed things, bit of
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1574
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Re: Chinese water filter analysis
Great idea on the reverse-osmosis water discharge!Test everything!Here's another great idea for collecting samples from water, a paper by "A Sensitive XRF Screening Method for Lead in Drinking
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1573
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Re: FW: [XRF] 59.5keV spectrum cleanup
It just looks like noise to me. I would have to see a lot more counts and
reproducible runs to believe it.
Charles
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Charles David Young
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#1572
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Re: FW: [XRF] 59.5keV spectrum cleanup
forgot the picture:
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1571
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Re: FW: [XRF] 59.5keV spectrum cleanup
Ok your 4.8us. Yes I ran that too for a long time.
Here's an expanded look at the lowest energy end of that scan, with pretty arrows to point out the
lowest fully resolved peak (although there is
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1570
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Re: FW: [XRF] 59.5keV spectrum cleanup
I have always used 4.8uS peak time.
Can you show why you think you are resolving individual peaks down to less
than 1.5 keV?
Charles
By
Charles David Young
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#1569
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Chinese water filter analysis
Hi guys
I am interested in drinking water quality testing and most drinking water test kits are not accurate.
They give positive readings on concentrated samples like sewage and not for trace elements
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taray singh <sukhjez@...>
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#1568
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Re: Si-PIN Detector PEAKING-TIME-TEST
After running the 19.2us peaking time and being satisfied with the tweaking and calibration, here are the results from a and overnight U L X-Ray test and for comparison an old similar test on the same
By
GEOelectronics@...
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#1567
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Re: FW: [XRF] 59.5keV spectrum cleanup
Thanks for that report Charles. Of the two, can you say what is the lowest peak that can be resolved and is there a difference between them? My just finished overnight run using the Si-PIN on a
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1566
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Re: FW: [XRF] 59.5keV spectrum cleanup
I did 2 runs on a brannerite specimen. One like normal (red) and the other
with a paper adhesive label covering the buttons. The proportions of the
peaks pretty much look the same to me.
Charles
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Charles David Young
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#1565
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Re: How about Sodium?
Ok, thanks for the Na response.
Next? gas proportional counter in a He atmosphere?
I'll take some with me in the shower,that should be enlightening.
Randall
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Randall Buck
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#1564
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(X-Ray tube) edge-absorption type Source Filters De-Mystified
A nice tutorial link on the subject:
http://xrf.guru/Concepts/FilterAndVoltage/index.html
and another from Bruker, the XRF gun
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1563
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Re: Cd Source Filter
Kovar alloy, 1 mil thick
Cd filter on source beam 40kVp @ 40uA
Kovar is
54% Fe
17% Co
29% Ni
Pic and .mca
Try this on your non silicon, room temp? probe??
Thanks to member Wally C. for exotic
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1562
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Re: Cd Source Filter
Just pics for now, Ni-Fe-Mo alloy stamp/
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1561
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Re: Cd Source Filter
Might as well add the spectrum from the earlier test showing what the modified beam looks like after passing through the Cd filter- exciter was? 1 Am button
Also just now Mo stamp (pure metal)
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1560
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Cd Source Filter
In earlier experiments (see Cd FAIL!) we gained information and data about how a cadmium (Cd) filter inserted into the exciter beam altered the output of that beam.
That allowed this experiment to
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1559
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Buddy can you spare 5?
5 seconds that is.
K-edge filter applied to bottom of wooden jig.
Jig and pure tin sample placed in chamber
Scanned for 5 seconds 50kVp @ 10 microAmperes.(the beam enters through shielded port in
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1557
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Re: How about Sodium?
Na Na NA!
Ne'er Do Well
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1556
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Re: How about Sodium?
Randall,
Wow that¡¯s going to be tough. #1 it has a Ka of only 1.04 keV with a 1 4% yield and # 2 its behind glass sucking up that 1.04. I can't say I've ever seen anything below Al and Al is tough
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Dude
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#1555
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Re: How about Sodium?
Thanks for the offer Randall, but Na.
Geo
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GEOelectronics@...
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#1554
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