Integrated quantitative PIXE analysis and EDX spectroscopy using a laser-driven particle source

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the first combined laser-driven PIXE and EDX analysis for elemental characterization, showing potential for portable, multi-functional materials analysis devices using laser-driven particle sources.

Contribution

It introduces a novel integrated approach to laser-driven PIXE and EDX spectroscopy, enabling quantitative elemental analysis with a compact, portable setup.

Findings

Successful quantitative analysis using proton beams in laser-driven PIXE.

Combined electron and proton irradiation enables element identification.

Paves the way for portable, multi-functional materials analysis tools.

Abstract

Among the existing elemental characterization techniques, Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy are two of the most widely used in different scientific and technological fields. Here we present the first quantitative laser-driven PIXE and laser-driven EDX experimental investigation performed at the Centro de L\'aseres Pulsados in Salamanca. Thanks to their potential for compactness and portability, laser-driven particle sources are very appealing for materials science applications, especially for materials analysis techniques. We demonstrate the possibility to exploit the X-ray signal produced by the co-irradiation with both electrons and protons to identify the elements in the sample. We show that, using the proton beam only, we can successfully obtain quantitative information about the sample structure through laser-driven PIXE analysis. These results pave the way towards the development of a compact and multi-functional apparatus for the elemental analysis of materials based on a laser-driven particle source.