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Proton‐induced x‐ray emission using 68 MeV Protons
Author(s) -
Denker A.,
OpitzCoutureau J.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
x‐ray spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.447
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1097-4539
pISSN - 0049-8246
DOI - 10.1002/xrs.706
Subject(s) - proton , spectral line , x ray , atomic physics , range (aeronautics) , penetration depth , penetration (warfare) , physics , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemistry , materials science , nuclear physics , optics , chromatography , operations research , astronomy , composite material , engineering
The x‐ray production cross‐sections for the K lines of heavy elements is large enough at 68 MeV proton energy to detect heavy elements via the K in addition to their L x‐rays. The large proton penetration range and the fact that the absorption coefficients for the x‐ray K lines are much smaller than for the L lines result in an analytical depth of several millimeters. The intensity ratio between the stimulated x‐ray L and K lines yields information about the physical composition (e.g. layered structure, layer sequence, hidden structure elements) of the samples supplementary to their chemical composition. Also, based on the now detectable K lines, spectra with mixtures of heavy elements are easier to evaluate, as the K lines will overlap less than the L lines. The experimental set‐up and several examples of measurements on archaeological and art historical objects are presented. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.