Towards truly simultaneous PIXE and RBS analysis of layered objects in cultural heritage

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the integration of PIXE and RBS techniques within the DataFurnace software to enable simultaneous, coherent analysis of layered cultural heritage objects, exemplified by analyzing a historical oxidized metal sample.

Contribution

It introduces the addition of PIXE support to DataFurnace, allowing for combined analysis of RBS and PIXE data in a single, optimized process for cultural heritage samples.

Findings

Successful simultaneous analysis of RBS and PIXE data

Accurate composition profiles of layered samples obtained

Enhanced analysis workflow for cultural heritage materials

Abstract

For a long time, RBS and PIXE techniques have been used in the field of cultural heritage. Although the complementarity of both techniques has long been acknowledged, its full potential has not been yet developed due to the lack of general purpose software tools for analysing the data from both techniques in a coherent way. In this work we provide an example of how the recent addition of PIXE to the set of techniques supported by the DataFurnace code can significantly change this situation. We present a case in which a non homogeneous sample (an oxidized metal from a photographic plate -heliography- made by Niepce in 1827) is analysed using RBS and PIXE in a straightforward and powerful way that can only be performed with a code that treats both techniques simultaneously as a part of one single and coherent analysis. The optimization capabilities of DataFurnace, allowed us to obtain the composition profiles for these samples in a very simple way.