Introduction to X-Ray Spectrometry

by K.L. Williams

In this concise introduction to two versatile and widely used techniques, the author has provided a clear exposition of underlying principles and practical applications for beginners in the use of X-ray spectrometry. The treatment is comprehensive but not excessively detailed. Enough theory is discussed, with a minimum of mathematics, to outline the physical principles underlying the techniques, but the reader is not drawn into more complexity than is necessary for practical understanding. Common features of analytical instrumentation such as wavelength-dispersive and energy-dispersive spectrometers are described, with emphasis on the analyst s responsibility for monitoring instrumental performance and maintaining critical standards of appraisal. The essential features of typical XRF spectrographs and electron microprobes are separately summarized before the principal sources of analytical error are explained. Several of the more widely used methods for eliminating or controlling errors are discussed in sufficient detail to understand and assess most of the more familiar instrument- control and computer-based data correction procedures. By concentrating on the two X-ray based spectrometric techniques that are already routine quantitative analytical tools, the author aims to help the many end users improve their analyses and the quality of the results. Computer-based instrument control and data reduction have relieved users of much tedious work, but in so doing have perhaps overshadowed the more important fundamentals. A wide range of readers - in petrology, mineralogy, crystallography, ceramics, materials science, metallurgy and chemistry - will find this book highly relevant to their non-specialist needs. K. L. Williams is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Sydney.

384 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 1987