Tailored process instrumentation is used to an increasing degree to ensure a consistent quality of industrial products by monitoring their technological production processes. If the determination of the elemental composition of products is an important criterion, then - in particular because of their physical-technical and applicative properties - the use of X-ray fluorescence XRF analysis is the control method of choice for many production processes.
The XRF - measuring principle is to calculate the relative content of different elements in a material according to the intensity of their fluorescence lines.

The field of application of the ELBRUS X-ray fluorescence analysis system is the process analysis, e.g.: determination of layer thicknesses, environmental analysis, recycling processes and metallurgy.

The ELBRUS system consists of several X-ray measuring heads and scanners, as well as the necessary electrical control and supply units and an industrial computer. Amongst others proven components, such as the design approved X-ray source iMOXS and focusing X-ray capillary optics, as well as fast, Peltier cooled silicon drift detectors (SDD) are utilized for the measuring heads.

The ELBRUS XRF systems currently includes three measuring heads of different specification (RAPID, STANDARD, COMPACT), specially designed vacuum chambers for their in-situ use (maximum allowed process temperatures up to 550°C) and two scanners iXSCAN (STANDARD - 2D, and PORTABLE -1D). This allows for users in production, quality control or R&D to choose the optimal measurement system (temporal and analytical requirements, costs) for the process to be monitored.
The control of the measuring heads and scanners - system control, measurement, data processing and communication with the technological process unit - is realized through an IfG own proprietary software program. Due to its compact and modular design the use of the ELBRUS XRF system is possible in the production line (in-line, ex-situ and in-situ), to the line (at-line) and stand-alone (off-line).

There are no restrictions for the usage of the ELBRUS XRF system from the material point of view. It enables on-line monitoring, such as:

• homogeneous solid products,
• layered systems, which are deposited on flexible or solid, inorganic or organic carrier substrates, e.g. those for the photovoltaics,
• other products in liquid form, etc.

in terms of their composition and thickness.

For global characterization of layer-systems, an extension of the device with Raman- and XRD measurement equipment is possible.