The Thermo Scientific™ ARL™ PERFORM’X is a sequential WDXRF instrument designed for routine process control and advanced materials characterization. It integrates standard elemental analysis capabilities with mapping and small spot analysis to create a solution that offers exceptional versatility and performance for the analysis of any solid or liquid sample.

To enhance both new and standard analytical capabilities with respect to sample excitation, we have developed the Ultra Closely Coupled Optics (UCCO)-30 X-ray tube, now available for use with both the ARL PERFORMX 4000 W and ARL PEFORMX 2500W Series.

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The new UCCO-30 X-ray tube is not only fitted with an ultra thin 30 micron beryllium (Be) window, but also provides closer coupling of the anode to sample that increases sensitivity by 25% for all elements across the Mendeleev table. Additionally lighter elements benefit from the thinner Be window: Elements chlorine (Cl) to silicium (Si) get a 40% increase in intensity, while elements with atomic number lower than silicium, the UCCO-30 X-ray tube provides a whopping 60% increase in intensity compared to the 5GN+ (50 micron) tube! When compared to a 4GN X-ray tube with 75 micron Be window, the sensitivity increase is even more spectacular reaching a factor of 2 for the lightest elements (see fig.1).

The new UCCO-30 X-ray tube comes also with the “LoVap” filament technology as seen with all ARL PERFORM’X X-ray tubes. This low current filament coupled with the Thermo Scientific™ Guard Ring helps protect the beryllium window from plating with atoms ejected from the filament and provides remarkable analytical stability for the lifetime of the instrument.

Conclusion

The new design and thinner window of the UCCO-30 X-ray tube provides superior X-ray intensity compared to the standard 5GN+ X-ray tube without sacrificing tube lifetime. With 4000 W maximum power analysis of lighter elements is performed at 28kV-140mA (to keep the total power below 4000W) rather than 30kV-140mA (equaling to 4200 W). This helps decrease the spectral background with no impact on limits of detection and precision for light elements.