Each element has characteristic X-ray emission lines. The elemental composition of any material can be determined with X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy. The material is excited with an initial energy and all the fluorescence photons, originating from emission lines, are collected with an energy sensitive fluorescence detector. This XRF spectrum gives an overview of the energy and number of all detected photons in the selected energy range. The usual energy range at CAMD is 1-5 keV for low energy XRF, detecting Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ag etc., and 3-15 keV for high energy XRF, detecting all transition metals, Pb, Au, and others.
