Synchrotron-XRF microprobe analysis of silicate reference standards using fundamental-parameter quantification

The synchrotron-XRF facility in Hamburg has been evaluated for precision and accuracy of trace-element analyses by the repeated analyses over 1-3 years of six geological reference standards. The precision of five replicate measurements at single locations in any sample, expressed as relative % (standard deviation/mean X 100), is better than 1 % for Cu, Zn, Ga, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Ho, Hf, Ta, Th and U, at concentration levels of several ppm. For glass standards, an accuracy of between 0.25 and 14.0 % was obtained for elements from Cu to U, except for Ho and Rb where accuracies are 19-33 %. Detection limits are of the order of 1-10 ppm for the above elements.