Use of Compton-to-Rayleigh scattering intensity ratio for the aid of reference-free X-ray analysis

Dr. V-D. Hodoroaba (BAM, Berlin, Germany) and his colleague have published a report on the feasibility of quantitative X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis using coherent (Rayleigh) and incoherent (Compton) X-ray scattering. They have evaluated the ratio of the Compton-to-Rayleigh intensity observed in XRF spectra and also have discussed its relation to the average atomic number. In so-called reference-free XRF analysis, which uses only fundamental parameters and a theoretical formula and does not rely on the calibration curve, there still exist many difficulties, particularly for matrices of lower mean atomic numbers. The analysis presented in this research has sufficiently high sensitivity to distinguish the average atomic number of specimens even within the 0.1 difference. For more information, see the paper, "Gaining Improved Chemical Composition by Exploitation of Compton-to-Rayleigh Intensity Ratio in XRF Analysis", V-D. Hodoroaba et al., Anal. Chem., 86, 6858 (2014).