A new XRF probe for in-situ determining concentration of multi-elements in ocean sediments

This paper introduces a new X-ray fluorescence probe for in-situ determining the concentration of multi-elements in ocean sediments. The probe consists of Si-Pin X-ray detector with an electro-thermal colder, two isotope sources, essential electrical signal processing units and a notebook computer. More than 10 elements can be simultaneously determined at a detection limit of (10~200) X 10-6 and precision of 5%~30% without liquid Nitrogen supply. Tests show that the probe can perform the analytical tasks under the water at the depth of less than 1000 meters.