XRF Sample Spinners...a great feature for great results

​You may work with samples for an application where an x-ray fluorescence (XRF) Analyzer with a sample spinner can provide a great advantage over systems without one. If your samples are not homogeneous without extensive sample preparation…examples being samples that are powders or granular, fabrics because they are porous, or geological samples…then a sample spinner can save preparation time (while minimizing sample amounts needed) along with providing greater accuracy with more consistency.

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Hitachi High-Tech recently released a document on how the sample spinner works and the benefits it offers in measurement accuracy (contact us here to get a copy). The Hitachi XRF Analyzer line features sample spinners in their bulk elemental analyzer x-ray fluorescence analyzers, the LabX5000 and XSupreme8000, spinning the individual sample while the measurement is taking place.
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To be clear, when referring to a ‘sample spinner’ we are referring to when a sample actually spins during measurement. This is different than a ‘sample changer’ that automates sample handling when measuring multiple samples. The X-Supreme8000 does have a sample change along with the sample spinner for the measurement spot while the LabX5000 is a single sample analyzer but does still spin.

​​Your sample will have a penetration depth for the primary x-rays but also a critical depth, which is what provides information/energies for the detector tube to collect. Having the sample spin during the measurement helps because it increases the detected volume of sample that the x-ray beam hits and gives the system more information to process into data. 

​​On a stationary sample, the primary x-ray is limited in what detected volume it can hit. So, if a heterogenous sample is involved, the area x-rays hit may have elements (or quantities of elements) involved that other areas don’t. This won’t provide a true representation of the overall sample. An example is provided on the overview from Hitachi that shows significantly different spectra being obtained on a stationary sample just by rotating it 90 degrees (again, contact us for this document).

There are many factors that come into play when analyzing heterogenous samples. The samples composition/matrix, density, and the analyzers tube-sample-detector geometry being some. The Hitachi line of x-ray fluorescence analyzers have been optimized to help achieve results that are representative of the sample as a whole and put you in a position to make decisions based on the most complete and accurate information possible.
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If you are using XRF to analyze heterogenous samples, then contact Eastern Applied Research for a copy of the full Hitachi Spinner overview literature or to send samples in to see how the Hitachi spinner configuration can benefit your measurements.

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