Element concentrations from overlapping X-ray spectra

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Abstract

Minimum detection limits for elements with Z ∼ 60 using L X-rays are predicted to be ~ 1 ppm for reasonable amounts of charge collected. In practical situations, especially when measuring the rare earth elements, the detection of a particular element is limited by the complexity of the spectrum and the amount of the other elements present. Consequently, a stripping procedure for determining the concentrations of many elements whose X-ray spectra overlap has been developed to test the detection limits for such cases. It is based on an accurate determination of the response function of the system to a single element. The procedure has been applied to the measurement of the REE in artificial and natural minerals. For the dominant elements at the level of a few hundred ppm an accuracy of 10% in the concentration can be achieved, while a detection limit of a few tens of ppm for the heavier elements in a complex spectrum dominated by the light rare earth elements is possible.

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