Abstract
A confocal X-ray fluorescence microscope was built at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) to obtain compositional depth profiles of historic paintings. The microscope consists of a single-bounce, borosilicate monocapillary optic to focus the incident beam onto the painting and a commercial borosilicate polycapillary lens to collect the fluorescent X-rays. The resolution of the microscope was measured by scanning a variety of thin metal films through this confocal volume while monitoring the fluorescence signal. The capabilities of the technique were then probed using test paint microstructures with up to four distinct layers, each having a thickness in the range of 10–80 microns. Results from confocal XRF were compared with those from stand-alone XRF and visible light microscopy of the paint cross-sections. A large area, high-resolution scanner is currently being built to perform 3D scans on moderately sized paintings.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
W. Taft, J. Mayer, The Science of Paintings (Springer-Verlag, New York, 2000)
E. Ciliberto, G. Spoto, Modern Analytical Methods in Art and Archaeology (Wiley, New York, 2000)
M. Kumakhov, X-ray Spectrom. 29, 343 (2000)
D. Bilerback, X-ray Spectrom. 32, 195 (2003)
B. Kanngiesser, W. Malzer, I. Reiche, Nucl. Instrum. Methods B 211, 259 (2003)
B. Kanngiesser, W. Malzer, A.F. Rodriguez, I. Reiche, Spectrochim. Acta B 60, 41 (2005)
K. Janssens, K. Proost, G. Falkenberg, Spectrochim. Acta B 59, 1637 (2004)
L. Vincze, B. Vekemans, F.E. Brenker, G. Falkenberg, K. Rickers, A. Somogyi, M. Kersten, F. Adams, Anal. Chem. 76, 6786 (2004)
N. Gao, K. Janssens, In: X-ray Spectrometry: Recent Technological Advances, K. Tsuji, J. Injuk, R. Van Grieken (Eds.) (Wiley, West Sussex, 2004)
G. Falkenburg, K. Rickers, D.H. Bilderback, R. Huang, HASYLAB Annual report, http://www-hasylab.desy.de/science/annual_reports/2003_report/part1/intern/11062.pdf, last accessed March 30, 2005
B. Vekemans, L. Vincze, F.E. Brenker, F. Ada, J. Anal. At. Spectrosc. 19, 1302 (2004)
J. Bearden, Rev. Mod. Phys. 39, 78 (1967)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
PACS
29.30.Kv; 68.37.Yz; 41.50.+h
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Woll, A., Mass, J., Bisulca, C. et al. Development of confocal X-ray fluorescence (XRF) microscopy at the Cornell high energy synchrotron source. Appl. Phys. A 83, 235–238 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-006-3513-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-006-3513-4