Identification of material by X-ray fluorescence analysis with a pyroelectric X-ray generator

By changing the temperature of Lithium Tantalate (LiTaO3) single crystal at moderate vacuum conditions leads to generation of strong electric field. The uncompensated polarization during the heating or cooling of the crystal causes the ejection of electrons from either the dielectric layer on the surface of the crystal or from a metal target depending on the polarity. The electrons are accelerated and gain energy of up to 100 keV. The energy of these electrons can be determined by measuring the end-point energy of the X-ray spectrum that resulted from the electron interactions with the target. The conception of a pyroelectric accelerator enabled us to develop compact (portable) electron source, which does not require an external high-voltage and the use of hazardous materials. The compact and portable nature of pyroelectric-driven particle sources holds significant promise for applications in materials science, particularly for materials analysis methodologies. The research demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing the X-ray signal generated by irradiation with electrons to identify elements in each sample. It is revealed that employing only the electron beam enables the successful acquisition of quantitative information regarding the sample structure through pyroelectric driven PD-PIXE analysis. These findings set the stage for the development of a compact and versatile apparatus for elemental analysis of materials based on a pyroelectric source.