The potential of microcalorimeter x-ray spectrometers for measurement of relative fluorescence-line intensities

TL;DR

This paper explores the use of cryogenic microcalorimeter x-ray spectrometers to measure relative fluorescence-line intensities with high precision, demonstrating potential for systematic uncertainties below 1% in future applications.

Contribution

It presents one of the first uses of cryogenic microcalorimeters for estimating x-ray fluorescence line intensities, highlighting their accuracy and potential for improved measurements.

Findings

Achieved 4 eV energy resolution in measuring lanthanide x-ray lines.

Estimated uncertainties on intensity corrections, demonstrating high precision.

Projected systematic uncertainties below 1% for future thin-film measurements.

Abstract

We have previously used an array of cryogenic microcalorimeters with 4 eV energy resolution to measure emission-line profiles and energies of the characteristic L-shell x rays of four elements of the lanthanide series: praseodymium, neodymium, terbium, and holmium. We consider the power of the same data set for the estimation of the lines' relative intensities. Intensities must be corrected for detector efficiency and self-absorption, and we estimate uncertainties on the corrections. These data represent one of the first uses of cryogenic energy-dispersive sensors to estimate the relative intensities of x-ray fluorescence lines. They show that a future measurement of thin-film samples with microcalorimeter detectors could achieve systematic uncertainties below 1% on relative line intensities over a broad energy range.