Nondestructive three-dimensional elemental microanalysis by combined helical x-ray microtomographies

A nondestructive X-ray technique combining X-ray transmission, fluorescence, and Comton tomography for nondestructive three-dimensional elemental microanalysis was discussed. It was suggested that with the method quantitive three-dimensional chemical distributions can be obtained at submicrometric resolution in a nondestructive and noninvasive way. For the method, significant reduction of the measurement time can be achieved by increasing the collection statistics through the use of multielement energy dispersive detector. It was also suggested that the method can be used for microanalysis of rare and fragile samples from several research fields.