Possibility of using a low-energy proton beam for particle-induced X-ray emission microanalysis.

The present analysis concentrates on the utilization of low-energy proton accelerators of several hundred kilovolts for particle-induced X-ray emission microanalysis. Experiments on stainless-steel and carbon matrices for thick target conditions have been carried out at several proton energies. The ionization cross sections for some elements are calculated using the ECPSSR theory. The effective cross section and minimum detection limits are calculated for the two matrices. With the availability of ultra LE-Ge detectors low-Z elemental detection is discussed.