Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microprobe: A microanalytical instrument for trace element studies in geochemistry, cosmochemistry, and the soil and environmental sciences

Abstract The availability of high-brightness synchrotron radiation sources has permitted the development of X-ray microprobe instrumentation for trace element studies at high spatial resolution based on the X-ray fluorescence technique. The X-ray microprobe at beamline X26A at the National Synchrotron Light Source (Brookhaven National Laboratory) has been applied to a wide variety of problems in the earth, planetary, soil and environmental sciences, including: volatile element contents of micrometeorites, oxidation state heterogeneity of uranium in contaminated sediments, elemental compositions and speciation of flyash particles and the compositions of hydrothermal fluids based on inclusion analyses.