Synchrotron radiation x-ray fluorescence at the LNLS:: Beamline instrumentation and experiments

The x-ray fluorescence beamline of the Laboratorio Nacional de Luz Sincrotron (LNLS) is described, The main optical component of the beamline is a silicon (111) channel-cut monochromator, which can tune energies between 3 and 14 keV. A general description of two experimental stations is given, Beam characterization was done by measuring experimental parameters such as vertical profile and monochromatic Bur. These results show that the photon flux at 8 keV in an area of 20 mm(2) is 4.2 x 10(9) photons s(-1). The possibility of achieving fine tuning of energies (high resolution) was confirmed, This paper presents some original results derived from the commissioning of the beamline, such as a comparison of detection limits in different experimental conditions, and a novel mechanical system to align capillaries together with a semi-automatic adjustment procedure. So far, there have been several proposals to perform a variety of experiments at this beamline. covering different fields, such as physics, chemistry, geology and biology. Copyright (C) 1999 John Whey & Sons, Ltd.