Recent developments on portable XRF scanner

A prototype X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanner was developed with the aim of being reliable and portable, best suiting the needs of cultural heritage scientists who constantly face the difficulty of in-situ analysis. The instrument constructed is composed of an exchangeable scanning head (X-ray tube and detector), a motorized x-y stage with a controlling interface and a laptop. With the small stage, it can scan areas up to 20 x 20 cm 2 with a lateral resolution of 1 mm. The system can be transported inside a standard airplane cabin trolley and weights no more than 10 Kg. The controlling interface was programmed in LabView© and the data evaluation is performed on-the-go with a custom-made algorithm. The system has been put to test with a variety of materials and some results are discussed.