Development of an Automated Procedure for the Optimization of Multielement Analysis with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Abstract

A system is devised that automatically optimizes energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer settings for multielement determinations under compromise conditions using self-sustained search algorithms. As an objective function, the joint probability of detecting all elements was chosen. The current process is to date limited by the resolution of the commercially available automatic power supply employed. Typical optimization times needed for the entire procedure are on the order of 5 minutes for major constituents, with prolonged times for minor and trace elements as a result of increased counting time to obtain good counting statistics.

Key Words:

• Optimization
• Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence
• Multielement Analysis