Page 561 - Radiation Safety

X-ray Analyzers

Basic principles and techniques:

▪ XRF is an acronym for x-ray fluorescence, a process whereby electrons are displaced

from their atomic orbital positions, releasing a burst of energy that is characteristic of a

specific element.

▪ When X-rays interact with a material, they will be scattered, absorbed or diffracted.

▪ The scattered X-rays can lose or change their energy after the interaction.

▪ Diffraction is usually caused by crystal lattice and it, therefore, occurs if the material

involved is of crystalline nature.