Internal conversion in energy dispersive X-ray analysis of actinide-containing materials. |
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Authors: | Thierry Wiss Hartmut Thiele Bert Cremer Ian Ray |
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Institution: | European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, 76125 Karlsruhe, Germany. thierry.wiss@ec.europa.eu |
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Abstract: | The use of X-ray elemental analysis tools like energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) is described in the context of the investigation of nuclear materials. These materials contain radioactive elements, particularly alpha-decaying actinides that affect the quantitative EDS measurement by producing interferences in the X-ray spectra. These interferences originating from X-ray emission are the result of internal conversion by the daughter atoms from the alpha-decaying actinides. The strong interferences affect primarily the L X-ray lines from the actinides (in the typical energy range used for EDS analysis) and would require the use of the M lines. However, it is typically at the energy of the actinide's M lines that the interferences are dominant. The artifacts produced in the X-ray analysis are described and illustrated by some typical examples of analysis of actinide-bearing material. |
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