2. Qualitative analysis

2.1 X-ray emission spectrum

The acquisition of an X-ray spectrum provides information on the nature of the elements present in the sample being analyzed. Generally speaking, the detection of major elements (content greater than 10%) poses no problem, whatever the type of spectrometer used. For elements in low concentrations (< 1%), analysis is more delicate. The risks of error lie mainly in the spectral or energy resolution of the spectrometer used, and in the case of the wavelength-dispersive spectrometer, in the spectral resolution of the monochromator crystal (figure 1 ).