Micro X-ray Fluorescence

ARTAX Technology

Detail view of the ARTAX measuring head
Detail view of the ARTAX measuring head

The core piece of the system is a compact measuring head containing:

  • a specially designed, very compact mini-focus X-ray tube in metal-ceramics technology
  • a polycapillary X-ray optics that produces a microspot of primary X-radiation with outstandingly high intensity
  • a compact, high resolution, nitrogen-free XFlash SDD detector with high speed/low noise electronics
  • an integrated CCD camera providing a magnified digital image of the sample region under investigation
  • a white LED illuminating the sample to optimize the image quality and contrast
  • a laser diode to control the exact position of the beam on the sample and the exact distance between object and spectrometer.

A complete spectrometer on a mobile tripod

CCD camera image with spot position
CCD camera image with spot position

A mobile, vibration damped tripod carries the measuring head, a motor-driven XYZ positioning stage and the control unit.

It enables free positioning of the complete measuring system relative to the object under investigation with a reproducibility of better than ±10 µm.