In all three cases a wide range of incidence and takeoff angles is included. This must be kept in mind when applying theoretical formulas for the fluoresced and scattered intensity. As with x-ray tube excitation, the excitation intensity is not uniform across the specimen surface. Thus, it is important to ensure specimen homogeneity, sensitivity of fluoresced intensity to specimen position is a function of the geometry and source design in addition to specimen composition. Hence, it must be experimentally determined for the intended application.Table 3.6 summarizes the characteristics of some of the commonly used ra-dioisotopes. 55Fe is useful for exciting the light-element K lines from sodium to titanium. The silver K lines from the 109Cd source are efficient for exciting the medium-atomic-number element K lines from about chromium to niobium. The 88.2-keV y-ray from 109Cd is extremely effective for exciting the K lines from heavy elements such as platinum, gold, mercury, and lead. With 241Am, the nep¬tunium L lines are frequently filtered out and the source is used for exciting the K lines of medium- to high-atomic-number elements. [3H]-Tritium and 147Pm can be used as bremsstrahlung sources for broadband excitation.Often the availability of discrete photon energies from radioisotopes can be used to an advantage in selectively exciting particular elements in the specimen. In some cases the radioisotope can be chosen to have a line energy that is below the absorption-edge energy of an interfering major concentration element but above the absorption edge of the trace element to be measured. In other situations the excitation of a heavier element can be enhanced relative to a lighter element by choosing a radioisotope with a photon energy just above the absorption edge of the heavier element. A more flexible choice of excitation energies can be obtained by using a radioisotope of much higher activity to excite a secondary fluorescer, which in turn excites the specimen. This technique is similar to the secondary fluorescer method for x-ray tubes described in Sec. 3.3.2. It has the disadvantage of requiring a rather high source activity. Excitation with radioisotopes having discrete photon energies usually allows simplification of matrix correction models since only a few excitation energies are involved.
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