New Trend in Application of Synchrotron Radiation-Induced X-ray Fluorescence Analysis to Archaeology

Abstract

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is a well-established analytical method of archaeological objects enabling non-destructive multi-elemental analysis of the objects. X-ray tubes have been used as a principal excitation source of the conventional XRF spectrometers. Recent development of Synchrotron Radiation (SR) technology induced large advances in the X-ray fluorescence analysis of various materials. Characteristic properties of synchrotron radiation led to a number of new XRF techniques, which could not be realized by using conventional X-ray sources.