X‐radiography of cultural heritage materials using handheld XRF spectrometers

Abstract

This study investigated the feasibility, repeatability, and limitations of using handheld X‐ray fluorescence spectrometers to perform radiography with thorough safety measures. Radiography is a well‐established nondestructive technique commonly used in the field of cultural heritage preservation but not easily accessible to many. Equipped with X‐ray generating tubes, handheld spectrometers could potentially assist performing radiographic tasks off‐site due to their portability and increasing availability. These spectrometers are designed to work at close range within a limited voltage range and wattage, so the exposure settings should be modified for the spectrometers to generate big enough X‐ray beams to irradiate the artifacts and enough radiation to penetrate through them to produce useful radiographs. Using a Bruker Tracer 5i, the effective beam spread angle, which was computed from several test shots, was used to determine the constant relation between the area of irradiation and the X‐ray source to image‐receptor distance. Based on inverse square law and the total wattage limitation of the spectrometer, current and exposure time were recalculated to produce informative radiographs. Because of the limitations of the tested spectrometer, this method is best applicable to an area smaller than 9 cm, with the scanning distance shorter than half a meter. The spectrometer cannot be used to radiograph materials that require higher voltage than it can produce.

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