An external helium flushed milli-beam for combined PIXE and PIGE analysis

A helium flushed external beam PIXE/PIGE facility for nondestructive multielemental analysis was developed and tested. By using proton energies Esub(p) approx. = 4.1 MeV and simultaneous detection of x- and γ-rays, nearly complete analysis of all elements is achieved with nondestructive low ion current of Isub(p) approx. = 1 nA (except H, He, C, O and Ne are detected in a single measurement with sensitivities from theppm level to about one percent). For most of the elements there are at least two channels of identification, which is a special advantage in analyzing unfavourable matrices, where the radiations of certain elements may interfere with each other. (author)