X-ray fluorescence laboratory (FNSPE CTU) is equipped with several X-ray fluorescence (XRF) devices developed at FNSPE primarily for investigating CH objects over the last twenty years. The motivation for this research has been the interest of restorers and historians in the non-destructive and non-invasive elemental analysis of materials and the lack of such suitable devices. Even today, some XRF techniques are commercially unavailable. XRF scanning techniques used at FNSPE are more beneficial than classical XRF spot analysis because surface (2D) distribution of chemical elements can be drawn. The analysis is performed by scanning an object with a collimated X-ray beam (2D macro scanning) or with a polycapillary focused X-ray beam (2D micro scanning). Depth distribution of elements is measurable with a confocal X-ray fluorescence analyser. Its depth resolution (FWHM) is approximately 0.03 mm for most elements. Full-field X-ray fluorescence analysis is a state of the art XRF technique for determining the distribution of elements in a similar way to XRF scanning, but the selected area of an object is acquired at once instead of by a gradual and time-consuming scanning of a surface. The full-field X-ray fluorescence system at FNSPE uses a spectrometric silicon pixel detector with worldwide best energy resolution of 140 eV. Characterization of older materials is also based on a database of XRF spectra acquired from the investigation of various CH objects at FNSPE over the last 20 years.
Recent Comments