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Confocal X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) Microscopy: A New Technique for the Nondestructive Compositional Depth Profiling of Paintings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Arthur R. Woll ,
Donald H. Bilderback ,
Sol Gruner ,
Ning Gao ,
Rong Huang ,
Christina Bisulca  and
Jennifer Mass
Arthur R. Woll
Affiliation:
Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A.
Donald H. Bilderback
Affiliation:
Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A. School of Applied & Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A.
Sol Gruner
Affiliation:
Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A. Dept. of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, U.S.A.
Ning Gao
Affiliation:
X-ray Optical Systems, Albany, NY, 12203, U.S.A.
Rong Huang
Affiliation:
Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, U.S.A.
Christina Bisulca
Affiliation:
University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, U.S.A.
Jennifer Mass
Affiliation:
University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, U.S.A. Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, DE 19735, U.S.A.
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Abstract

A confocal x-ray fluorescence microscope was built at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) to determine the composition of buried paint layers that range from 10–80 μm thick in paintings. The microscope consists of a borosilicate monocapillary optic to focus the incident beam and a borosilicate polycapillary lens to collect the fluorescent x-rays. The overlap of the two focal regions is several tens of microns in extent, and defines the active, or confocal, volume of the microscope. The capabilities of the technique were tested using acrylic paint films with distinct layers brushed onto glass slides and a twentieth century oil painting on canvas. The position and thickness of individual layers were extracted from their fluorescence profiles by fitting to a simple, semi-empirical model.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 852 , 2004 , OO2.5
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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