Thermo Scientific NITON XL3t 500, User Manual

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Standard Soil Mode
Thermo Scientific NITON XL3 Analyzer User’s Guide 1-23
Standard Soil Mode
Figure 1-1. Standard Soil Mode Menu Path
To use the Standard Soil Mode, simply select the Standard Soil Mode
icon from the Bulk Analysis Menu to place your instrument into
Standard Soil Mode . Use the Standard Soil Mode if :
• The percentage of the elements of interest are <1.0%
• The material is of a light matrix, for example aluminum silicate
• Elements with atomic number greater than iron do not exceed
several percent
This mode of operation is optimum for any sample whose elements of inter-
est are present at less than 1%.
Standard Soil Mode utilizes the Compton
Scatter (Inelastic Collisions) of a particular sample. Compton scatter occurs
when primary X-rays do not cause fluorescence but instead collide with the
atoms of the sample. The Compton Scatter that occurs is directly propor-
tional to the density (average atomic number (Z)) of the sample. A light
matrix material, such as an oil or sand, will have a much greater scatter than
that of a heavy matrix, such as ore. The analyzer measures this scatter peak
and automatically adjusts the concentration based on the matrix of the
material and allows for the analysis of a bulk sample without the use of site