Beryllium Free X-Ray Windows
Amptek is announcing the introduction of Boron Carbide (B4C) windows for use with Amptek’s FAST SDD® and SiPIN detectors. The product offering is the result of a multi-year effort to provide end-users and OEM manufacturers with a high-performance window alternative to standard beryllium (Be) foils.
Product Details
Advantages
- Comparable transmission efficiency to Be foils over a wide energy range, typical to hand-held and benchtop XRF applications
- Results from an instrument will not be greatly affected when switching from Beryllium to B4C windows.
- Can be used in most places where a beryllium window was previously used.
- Non-toxic material provides worry-free handling during installation and use
- Concerns over the potential health hazards of beryllium and exposure are not an issue with these windows.
- Less thickness variation as compared to typical Be foils
- The beryllium window forming process allows a fair amount of variation in window thickness. The tightly controlled semiconductor fabrication process on the B4C windows produces a much more consistent window thickness.
- OEM's prefer this as they can expect similar transmission from detector to detector, even at lower energies.
- Allows for better modeling in quantitative calculations if the window thickness more closely matches the nominal values.
Above 1.5 keV the B4C windows offer slightly more attenuation (lower efficiency) than the Be windows. This difference is small for most elements. For example the B4C windows offer ~5% lower efficiency than Be around 3 keV. For X-rays above 6 keV the efficiency for the two windows is nearly identical.
The B4C windows are made from the extremely hard material Boron Carbide and coated with aluminum. The characteristic X-rays from Al are observed in the spectrum. All Amptek detectors contain aluminum (e.g. the multilayer collimator is coated with aluminum) so this interference is always present.
The B4C windows may not survive as well in corrosive environments.
Downloads
Brochure
Boron Carbide Windows Brochure
