A lab-based micro-X-ray fluorescence spectrometer with high photon flux and spatial resolution for ancient ceramic research

Abstract

A new compact, extendable and lab-based micro-XRF (μXRF) spectrometer with high photon flux and spatial resolution is developed and reported in this paper. With a liquid Ga–In alloy jet as the X-ray source and using a multi-layer focusing mirror, the spectrometer provides an energy of 9.25 keV, with a focused spot size of 70 μm (H) × 63 μm (V) and a photon flux density of about 4.15 × 10¹¹ photons per s per mm². A National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard reference material (SRM) 611 was used to determine the detection limits (DLs). The spectrometer provides the DLs of 5.7–86.5 ppm in the atomic number range of 20–29. Finally, an ancient turquoise glazed ceramic was investigated by this method. The μXRF mapping results can help to reveal elemental compositions and could be used to facilitate an in-depth investigation of the production of ceramics when combined with graphical displays. This in situ μXRF analysis in the laboratory could serve as an effective means for understanding the microstructure of samples.