Characterization of Earth and Planetary Minerals by Synchrotron Radiation Induced X-ray Fluorescence Analysis.

Successful applications of SR-XRF technique to the analyses of earth and planetary minerals were demonstrated. The measuremnts were made at Photon Factory, Tsukuba utilizing an XRF system with Si(Li) detector and monochormatic X-ray obtained with Si (111) double crystals. Advantages of SR-XRF technique over conven-tional techniques were illustrated through the following examples of applications. Microprobe Fe and Ti K-XANES spectra of chondrule in meteorites were measured by X-ray fluorescent detection and their oxidation states were clarified. Two dimensional chemical state analysis of a geological sample was made based on the selective excitation of specific chemical species by using tunable SR and revealed two dimensional distribution of Fe0, Fe2+, and Fe3+ in the sample.