Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2021) 136: 423
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01422-y

Regular Article

Elemental mapping of Portuguese ceramic pieces with a full-field XRF scanner based on a 2D-THCOBRA detector

¹ Laboratory of Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering, and Radiation Physics, Department of Physics, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Campus Caparica, 2829-516, Monte da Caparica, Portugal
² I3N - Physics Department, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

^a pmd.carvalho@campus.fct.unl.pt

Received: 6 November 2020
Accepted: 10 April 2021
Published online: 21 April 2021

Abstract

In this work, we present a novel application of the full-field energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) imaging system based on a MicroPattern Gaseous Detector (2D-THCOBRA) in the cultural heritage field. The detector has an intrinsic imaging capability with spatial resolution of $400\mathrm{\mu }\mathrm{m}\mathrm{FWHM}$, and is energy sensitive, presenting an energy resolution of approximately $1\mathrm{keV}\mathrm{FWHM}$ at $5.9\mathrm{keV}$. The full-field XRF scanner based on the 2D-THCOBRA detector allows mapping the distribution of elements in large area samples with high detection efficiency ($75\%$ at $5.9\mathrm{keV}$), being a very promising choice for elemental mapping analysis of large area cultural heritage samples. In this work, we have demonstrated the imaging capabilities of the full-field XRF scanner and used it to assess the restoration of a Portuguese faience piece.