M. Mosbah et al., MICRO-PIXE WITHIN MAGMATIC INCLUSIONS USING GUPIX SOFTWARE, Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 82(1), 1993, pp. 139-145
We have specifically developed the micro-PIXE method in order to study
trace elements in volcanic glasses and in melt inclusions trapped in
minerals. The elements of interest are contained between Sc and Nb, th
ese elements being useful tracers of the lava generation processes. Fo
r this purpose, we adopted GUPIX software (Guelph PIXE software packag
e) which seems suitable for analytical problems generally encountered
in the geological field. Adaptations were made to the software to suit
our specific requirements: measurement of the H factor as a function
of X-ray energy for a thick sample, creation of a fitting program for
determining the signal modelisation parameters vs X-ray energy. We obt
ained reliable results, as proved through the utilization of reference
materials (Soil7 and SL1) and samples of composition previously measu
red by another technique. Fe was used as the internal standard. Micro-
PIXE was applied to the study of the phenocryst melt inclusions from s
everal geological contexts.