INTRODUCTION TO X-RAY FLUORESCENCE (XRF)

An Overview of XRF Basics

1. Fundamental Principles

1.2 Nomenclature

The energy of an X-ray corresponds to the difference in energy of the energy levels concerned. K-radiation is the term given to the radiation released when replenishing the K-shell, L-radiation to that released when replenishing the L-shell etc. (Fig. 2).

Also needed for the full labeling of the emitted X-ray line is the information telling us which shell the electron filling the "hole" comes from. The Greek letters α, β, χ, ... are used for this with the numbering 1, 2, 3, ... to differentiate between the various shells and sub-levels.

X-ray line labelling
Fig. 2: X-ray line labeling

Examples:
Kα₁ Electron from sub-level L_III to the K-shell
Kα₂ Electron from sublevel L_II to the K-shell
Kα_1,2 if neither line is resolved by the spectrometer
Kβ₁ Electron from sublevel M to the K-shell
Lα₁ Electron from sublevel M to the L-shell

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