Patent ID: 6426993
Filing Date: 2002-07-30
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
An energy dispersion-type X-ray detection system comprising an energy dispersion-type X-ray detector, said energy dispersion-type X-ray detector comprising:a silicon drift chamber utilizing a count circuit with the time constant set to be long, and a microcalorimeter or a Josephson junction superconducting X-ray detector as a first sensor that is small in dimension, has a poor count rate, but has superior energy resolution; and a silicon drift chamber utilizing a count circuit with the time constant set to be short, and a high-purity Si semiconductor detector or an Si (Li) semiconductor detector as a second sensor having poor energy resolution but having a superior count rate, with the first and second sensors being arranged integrally in a juxtaposed manner, wherein a system is adopted where a signal from the first sensor with superior energy resolution is utilized as foreseeable information in quantitative analysis and then utilized in qualitative analysis, and a signal from the second sensor of superior count rate is utilized in quantitative analysis, with the latter stages of the sensors comprising individual preamplifiers, linear amplifiers, and pulse-height analyzers, the processing on spectrums being performed in both a qualitative and quantitative manner using a common control and computing unit.