Quantitative X-ray fluorescence analysis using fundamental parameters: Application to gold jewelry

The fundamental parameter method was applied to the quantitative x-ray fluorescence analysis of gold jewelry samples. The fluorescence spectra were acquired using monochromatic and focused W K alpha(1) radiation (59.32 keV) from a high-voltage x-ray tube and a Ge solid-state detector. A novel program package based on a whole-pattern fitting procedure including corrections for secondary fluorescence and escape peaks was developed. The accuracy of this method was tested by analyzing samples characterized with independent techniques.