Ioanna Mantouvalou

Reconstruction of thickness and composition of stratified materials by means of 3D micro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.

The recently developed 3D micro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (3D Micro-XRF) enables three-dimensional resolved, nondestructive investigation of elemental distribution in samples in the micrometer regime. Establishing a reliable quantification procedure is the precondition to render this spectroscopic method into a true analytical tool. One prominent field of application is the investigation of stratified material. A procedure for the quantitative reconstruction of the composition of stratified material by means of 3D Micro-XRF is proposed and validated. With the procedure, it is now possible to determine nondestructively the chemical composition and the thickness of layers. As no adequate stratified reference samples were available for validation, stratified reference material has been developed that is appropriate for 3D Micro-XRF or other depth-sensitive X-ray techniques.

Non-destructive, depth resolved investigation of corrosion layers of historical glass objects by 3D Micro X-ray fluorescence analysis

3D Micro X-ray fluorescence analysis was used for the investigation of reverse-glass paintings. The material-specific combination used in reverse-glass paintings leads to damage phenomena reinforced by glass corrosion. To elucidate the mechanism of corrosion processes taking place in the glass object depth profiles of mobile elements are of interest. In order to obtain elemental depth profiles of such kind of fragile objects the method of choice should be non-destructive. Our first results demonstrate the usefulness of the 3D Micro-XRF measurements for this kind of investigations. The assumption that certain binding media may initiate corrosion processes beginning at the interface glass/binding material could be confirmed.

A compact 3D micro X-ray fluorescence spectrometer with X-ray tube excitation for archaeometric applications

In this work, the applicability of a new 3D micro X-ray fluorescence (3D Micro-XRF) laboratory spectrometer for the investigation of historical glass objects is demonstrated. The non-destructiveness of the technique and the possibility to measure three-dimensionally resolved fluorescence renders this technique into a suitable tool for the analysis of cultural heritage objects. Although absorption and resolution effects complicate qualitative analysis of the data, layered structures can be distinguished from homogeneous samples without the need for full quantification. Different manufacturing techniques were studied in this work with the help of hand-made reference samples. With the gained knowledge it could be shown for the investigated historical glass object, that black enamel as a stained glass contour colour was used in a cold painting. The object was not fired after the application of the black enamel, but instead the adhesion of the paint was solely provided through organic binding agents and the backing with metal foils. Thus, for the manufacturing of the object, a mixture of cold painting technique with a stained glass color was used. Quantitative measurements with a 3D Micro-XRF setup at the Berlin synchrotron BESSY II confirm the assumptions drawn on the basis of the qualitative investigation with the 3D Micro-XRF spectrometer with X-ray tube excitation.

Performance of a polycapillary halflens as focussing and collecting optic—a comparison

Polycapillary halflenses are widely used to focus X-ray radiation onto a small spot. Additionally they can reduce the field of view of a semiconductor detector when placed in front of one. In 3D micro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (3D Micro-XRF) with synchrotron radiation, two polycapillary halflenses are used in a confocal geometry. Up until now, characterization measurements in the focal plane have only been performed in the case of the lens focusing parallel radiation. Assumptions have been made, that in the other case, when isotropic radiation from a spot source is transported to a detector, the acceptance distribution in the focal plane is also Gaussian. We performed measurements with an electron beam as well as a proton beam which confirm this assumption. In addition, a comparison between measurements in collecting and focusing mode show differences in spot size and transmission. These differences exemplify the fact that there is not one global spot size or transmission function of a polycapillary halflens. Illumination and divergence effects can alter both characteristic lens parameters.

Three-dimensional chemical mapping with a confocal XRF setup.

A new approach for the nondestructive reconstruction of stratified systems with constant elemental composition but with varying chemical compounds has been developed. The procedure is based on depth scans with a confocal X-ray fluorescence setup at certain energies near absorption edges. These so-called marker energies, where XAFS signals of the involved chemical compounds differ significantly, can also be used to uncover the chemical composition and its topology. A prominent field of application is homogeneous material that is degraded due to chemical reactions like oxidation or reduction. A procedure for the semiquantitative reconstruction of stratified material by means of depth scans at marker energies is elaborated and validated and a three-dimensional mapping is presented.

Reconstruction Procedure for 3D Micro X-ray Absorption Fine Structure

A new approach for chemical speciation in stratified systems using 3D Micro-XAFS spectroscopy is developed by combining 3D Micro X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (3D Micro-XRF) and conventional X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy (XAFS). A prominent field of application is stratified materials within which depth-resolved chemical speciation is required. Measurements are collected in fluorescence mode which in general lead to distorted spectra due to absorption effects. Developing a reliable reconstruction algorithm for obtaining undistorted spectra for superficial and in-depth layers is proposed and validated. The developed algorithm calculates the attenuation coefficients of the analyte for the successive layers facilitating a new spectroscopic tool for three-dimensionally resolved nondestructive chemical speciation.

3D Micro-XRF for Cultural Heritage Objects: New Analysis Strategies for the Investigation of the Dead Sea Scrolls

A combination of 3D micro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (3D micro-XRF) and micro-XRF was utilized for the investigation of a small collection of highly heterogeneous, partly degraded Dead Sea Scroll parchment samples from known excavation sites. The quantitative combination of the two techniques proves to be suitable for the identification of reliable marker elements which may be used for classification and provenance studies. With 3D micro-XRF, the three-dimensional nature, i.e. the depth-resolved elemental composition as well as density variations, of the samples was investigated and bromine could be identified as a suitable marker element. It is shown through a comparison of quantitative and semiquantitative values for the bromine content derived using both techniques that, for elements which are homogeneously distributed in the sample matrix, quantification with micro-XRF using a one-layer model is feasible. Thus, the possibility for routine provenance studies using portable micro-XRF instrumentation on a vast amount of samples, even on site, is obtained through this work.

High average power, highly brilliant laser-produced plasma source for soft X-ray spectroscopy

In this work, a novel laser-produced plasma source is presented which delivers pulsed broadband soft X-radiation in the range between 100 and 1200 eV. The source was designed in view of long operating hours, high stability, and cost effectiveness. It relies on a rotating and translating metal target and achieves high stability through an on-line monitoring device using a four quadrant extreme ultraviolet diode in a pinhole camera arrangement. The source can be operated with three different laser pulse durations and various target materials and is equipped with two beamlines for simultaneous experiments. Characterization measurements are presented with special emphasis on the source position and emission stability of the source. As a first application, a near edge X-ray absorption fine structure measurement on a thin polyimide foil shows the potential of the source for soft X-ray spectroscopy.

Reconstruction of confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy depth scans obtained with a laboratory setup.

Depth profiling with confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (confocal micro-XRF) is a nondestructive analytical method for obtaining elemental depth profiles in the micrometer region. Up until now, the quantitative reconstruction of thicknesses and elemental concentration of stratified samples has been only possible with monochromatic, thus, synchrotron radiation. In this work, we present a new calibration and reconstruction procedure, which renders quantification in the laboratory feasible. The proposed model uses the approximation of an effective spot size of the optic in the excitation channel and relies on the calibration of the transmission of this lens beforehand. Calibration issues are discussed and validation measurements on thick multielement reference material and a stratified system are presented.

Confocal XANES and the Attic Black Glaze: The Three-Stage Firing Process through Modern Reproduction

The decorated black- and red-figured Athenian vases (sixth and fifth century BC) and the plain black-glazed ware represent a milestone in our material culture due to their aesthetic and technological value; the Attic black glaze is of particular interest since it is a highly resistant potash-alumino-silicate glass, colored by magnetite nanocrystals (<200 nm). This study presents a new methodological approach for correlating the iron oxidation state in the black glaze layer with the manufacturing process by means of conventional and confocal X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES). The enhanced surface sensitivity of confocal XANES is combined with conventional XANES resulting in higher counting rates to reliably evaluate the iron oxidation state (Fe(3+)/ΣFe) of the surface layer. A detailed description of the new evaluation procedure is presented. The three-stage firing process was retraced by correlating selected attic black-glazed (BG) specimens from different periods (Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic) with laboratory reproductions. The modern BG specimens serving as reference samples were produced by following the three-stage firing process (i.e., under oxidizing-reducing-oxidizing (ORO) conditions) at different top temperatures, using clay suspensions of different particle size produced with treatment of raw illitic clays from Attica.