X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF)

The primary advantage of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is that it is independent of the chemical bonding of the elements in the sample. In XRF, the sample is excited with a primary X-ray beam, causing the sample to fluorescence. The primary X-rays eject electrons out of the inner atomic shells (K-and L-shell). The resulting “vacancy” is filled by an electron from an outer atomic shell. This electron transition takes place only between the inner shells of the atom, which are not involved in chemical bonding. Due to the independency of chemical bonding, the samples can be analyzed directly without advanced sample preparation. This makes XRF one of the best methods for elemental analysis.