Semiconductor X-Ray Spectrometers

An outline is given of the techniques used in the manufacture of lithium drifted silicon and germanium detectors. With current techniques detectors having areas of 25-50 mm2 and a few millimeters thick can be prepared to give a resolution of better than 300eV. The main applications of these detectors in electron microprobe analysis and X-ray fluorescence analysis are reviewed. In these fields the ability of the detectors to measure simultaneously the fluorescent X-rays from a wide range of elements considerably improves the techniques and extends their use. Applications of instruments incorporating semiconductor X-ray spectrometers in the laboratory, in the field and on-line are reviewed.