MONTE-CARLO MODELING OF SECONDARY X-RAY-FLUORESCENCE ACROSS PHASE BOUNDARIES IN ELECTRON-PROBE MICROANALYSIS

Secondary fluorescence induced by photoelectric absorption of x-rays generated by an electron beam can occur when the characteristic x-ray energy of material ''A'' exceeds the critical excitation energy of material ''B.'' An expression is developed to calculate secondary fluorescence across a planar boundary from a discrete source placed at any (X, Y, Z) coordinates relative to the boundary. The expression can be incorporated into a Monte Carlo electron trajectory simulation which calculates the discrete distribution of primary x-ray generation.