Recent measurements of long‐wavelength x‐rays using synthetic multilayers

Abstract

An evaluation of the x‐ray fluorescence analysis of light elements (B, C, N and O) using synthetic multilayers and a conventional x‐ray spectrometer has been conducted. It is shown that effective measurements of long‐wavelength x‐rays can be made by using properly selected synthetic multilayers. For both B and C K radiations the Ni/C (2d = 158.8 Å) multilayer has the highest reflectivities, whereas the V/C (121.8 Å) and the W/Si (55.4 Å) multilayers have the best resolving powers. For N and O K radiations, the W/Si (80.2 and 55.4 Å) multilayers are preferred. The 80.2 and 55.4 Å W/Si multilayers produce the highest intensity and resolving power, respectively. The detection limits of the light elements using the multilayers have also been calculated, and it is shown that levels as low as 0.02% are achievable for the carbon and oxygen analyses using the Ni/C and W/Si multilayers, respectively. Copyright © 1989 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.