An optimized set-up for total reflection particle induced X-ray emission1This paper was presented at the 6th Conference on “Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis and Related Methods” (TXRF '96) held in two parts in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) and Dortmund (Germany) in June 1996, and is published in the Special Issue of Spectrochimica Acta, Part B, dedicated to that Conference.1

MeV proton beams at small angles of incidence (0-35 mrad) are used to analyse trace elements on hat surfaces such as Si wafers or quartz substrates. In these experiments, the particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) signal is used in a new optimized set-up. This set-up is constructed in such a way that the X-ray detector can reach very large solid angles, larger than 1 sr. Use of these large detector solid angles, combined with the reduction of bremsstrahlung background, affords limits of detection (LOD) of the order of 10(10) at cm(-2) using total reflection particle induced X-ray emission (TPIXE). The LODs from earlier TPIXE measurements in a non-optimized set-up are used to estimate LODs in the new TPIXE set-up. Si wafers with low surface concentrations of V, Ni, Cu and Ag are used as standards to calibrate the LODs found with this set-up. The metal concentrations are determined by total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF). The TPIXE measurements are compared with TXRF measurements on the same wafers. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.