A new detection system with polycapillary conic collimator for high-localized analysis of X-ray fluorescence emission

In this paper, we present a new detection system conceived for the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of the radiation emitted by very small areas on the sample. The system is based on the use of a polycapillary conic collimator which captures the XRF emitted only from a local area of the sample independently on how extended is the X-ray excitation. The use of a Peltier-cooled silicon drift detector allows to achieve high energy resolution with a very compact system configuration. In this first prototype, a spatial resolution of about 150 μm has been verified in the analysis of thin metal strips. Moreover, the results of a first X-Y scanning for elemental mapping on a sample surface are also reported