A portable XRF-XRD instrument for in-situ analysis of cultural heritage objects

Conservation Science 2007 10-11 May 2007 Milano (Italy)X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are necessary for complete identification of materials. Works of art and samples have to be carried to specialised laboratories for XRD analyses. In certain cases, this is uneasy or even infeasible. Fresco paintings or other artefacts with elevated security concerns cannot be moved, hence the interest of portable XRD. In the framework of the project EuArtech a portable XRF and XRD instrumentation has been developed. The instrument combines both XRF and XRD techniques in order to perform simultaneously elemental analysis and crystal structure identification. The system has a reasonable weight and requires low electrical power supply. In the present paper, the system design is shown and the first experimental results are discussed. They have been performed on paintings, glazes on ceramics and oxidized bronze. No damages have been detected on the analysed objects, even on paintings covered by varnish