Recent Progress in Non-destructive Elemental and Isotopic Analysis with Muonic X-Rays

Abstract

This review focuses on the recent significant progress on the development of Muon-Induced X-ray Emission Analysis. The principle of the analysis is similar to the X-ray fluorescence analysis except for its X-ray energy. The characteristic X-ray energy of muons is about 200 times higher than that of electrons. This feature enables us to analyze light elements, isotope ratios, and chemical states, non-destructively. There are many successful applications of the analysis in the field of archeology, cultural property science, and earth and planetary science and so on.