PRINCIPLES AND DEVELOPMENT OF TOTAL-REFLECTION X-RAY-FLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS

The historical development of the basic physical concepts of total ref lection, anomalous surface-reflection (ASR) and other grazing incidenc e phenomena are reviewed with respect to their impact on the developme nt of TXRF as an analytical method in the introduction. The physical p rinciples and technical arrangements for a broad field of actual appli cations are described. These major applications (total reflection samp le support, total reflection cut-off filter, total reflection trace el ement and microanalysis, glancing incidence X-ray analysis (GIXA: surf ace and thin layer analysis), glancing incidence X-ray diffractometry) are described. The recent developments of research related to improvi ng the detection limits of TXRF and trends to improve its scope and an alytical power are described with respect to their potentials for furt her progress.