MICROSCOPIC X-RAY-FLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS AND RELATED METHODS WITH LABORATORY AND SYNCHROTRON-RADIATION SOURCES - PLENARY LECTURE

The present status of microprobe versions of XRF analysis with tube ex citation and with synchrotron radiation sources is reviewed with respe ct to analytical parameters such as lateral resolution and imaging cap ability, and achievable detection limits, precision and accuracy, The main characteristics of the method are contrasted with those of other microanalytical techniques, For laboratory source mu-XRF, results with a rotating anode tube equipped with capillary X-ray optics are discus sed in terms of sensitivity and achievable lateral resolution. The pos sibilities of the new third generation synchrotron radiation storage r ings, especially those of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and its X-ray micro-fluorescence, imaging and diffraction beaml ine (ID 22) are discussed and related to second generation storage rin gs. Some characteristic applications are given to illustrate the recen t possibilities of the methodologies, in particular for the characteri zation of atmospheric particles, and in an analytical problem related to archaeology.