A detailed evaluation of counting losses of detectors in wavelength‐dispersion x‐ray spectroscopy

The exponential equation R 0 = R · e R 0τ describes the counting losses in wavelength‐dispersive x‐ray spectroscopic (WDF) detectors up to very high counting rates. The correction error can be considerably lower than 1% for a true counting rate of 7 · 10 5 s −1 . The dead time constant τ has however to be determined very accurately for this. Methods of determining τ with the desired accuracy are also described. And finally, a formula for correcting for dead time losses for two detectors in series, where each detector has a different dead time, is deduced and verified by experiment. Here again, one can calculate the true counting rate with an accuracy of 1% at a true counting rate of about 7 · 10 5 s −1 .