Secondary enhancement in confocal X-ray micro fluorescence

Confocal X-ray micro fluorescence is a method of 3D analysis, and uses the formation of confocal volume (probing microvolume) defined through the intersection of a focused excitation beam and the sensitive volume of a polycapillary lens placed in front of the detector. Because of increasing demands, the technique has been widely used at both synchrotron and laboratory sources. However, some essential problems in quantitative analysis have remained so far. Dr. A-G. Karydas (Institute of Nuclear Physics, N.C.S.R. "Demokritos", Greece) and his colleagues recently published a paper on the influence of the secondary fluorescence enhancement in this technique. For more information, see the paper, "Secondary Fluorescence Enhancement in Confocal X-ray Microscopy Analysis", D. Sokaras et al., Anal. Chem., Article ASAP, DOI: 10.1021/ac900688n