Improvement of Low-Energy PIXE System for Precise Surface Analysis

Abstract

A particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) system was improved for the analysis of the very thin surface of a material. We developed a precise low-energy proton irradiation system with a compact X-ray detector set near a sample. The energy of protons was varied from 30 to 100 keV for the analysis of the thin surface of a sample. It was confirmed from experimental results on some standard samples that the present PIXE analysis system had sufficient statistics on the counting for characteristic X-rays. Also this PIXE system was successfully applied to the analysis of the thin surface of the multi-layer films and the particulate sample.