Sample Preparation

Abstract

XRF very often is marked as a non-destructive analytical method. But this is wrong. The sample often has to be cut to fit into the instrument, it has to be crushed and grinded to make it homogeneous or it has to be polished to get a flat and even surface to reduce these influences to the analytical results. But for the prepared sample itself XRF is non-destructive. That means, the sample can be archived after the measurement and is available for further examinations. Sample preparation in μ-XRF can be very easy. Mostly even no sample preparation is required, but nevertheless if a sample preparation is performed it has to be done carefully in a way that the analyzed sample volume represents the material that has to be characterized. For that purpose the knowledge of the information depth is very important. The preparation of the samples then depends strongly on the samples itself and on the analytical question. Few possibilities will be discussed for the different sample types that have to be expected for μ-XRF.