Characterization of the new mobile confocal micro X-ray fluorescence (CXRF) system for in situ non-destructive cultural heritage analysis at the CNA: μXRF-CONCHA

Confocal micro X-ray fluorescence (CXRF) is gaining considerable interest due to its ability to provide compositional and spatial information that are typically obtained using standard micro-invasive and/or micro-destructive techniques (e.g., SEM-EDX), without the need of sampling. In this work, the specifics of the new CXRF device named μXRF-CONCHA from the Centro Nacional de Aceleradores of the University of Seville will be presented. The development of this equipment is intended to the study in situ of paintings in order to obtain depth profiles of pictorial layers by a no-destructive way. This investigation consists in studying the viability of this device for the study of pictorial layers of old paintings. The challenge consists in determining if the results obtained allow distinguishing the sequence of the paint layer and their composition. Several experimental paint multilayers have been analyzed to evaluate this setup. This paper shows that μXRF-CONCHA will be able to provide important information in order to understand and interpret the choice, palette, and technique of painters from the past.