A parallel-beam wavelength-dispersive X-ray emission spectrometer for high energy resolution in-air micro-PIXE analysis

A new parallel-beam wavelength dispersive (PB-WDS) X-ray emission spectrometer was constructed at the external proton beamline at the Microanalytical Centre of the Jozef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana. The spectrometer combines polycapillary X-ray optics for efficient X-ray collection with diffraction on a flat crystal analyzer and achieves energy resolution in the eV range. The whole set-up is enclosed within a He bag to be able to operate in the tender X-ray energy range. The basic design is described together with the results of characterization measurements yielding the main operation characteristics. Finally, an application for the micro-PIXE analysis of biological tissue is demonstrated exploiting both spatial and energy resolution of the new set-up.

Automated summary

A new parallel-beam wavelength dispersive X-ray emission spectrometer (PB-WDS) was built at the external proton beamline at the Microanalytical Centre of the Jozef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana. The spectrometer uses polycapillary X-ray optics for efficient X-ray collection and a flat crystal analyzer for diffraction, achieving high energy resolution in the eV range. The instrument is enclosed in a He bag to operate in the tender X-ray energy range. The article describes the design and presents the main operational characteristics, as well as demonstrates an application for micro-PIXE analysis of biological tissue utilizing the spatial and energy resolution of the new set-up.