Determining aerosol particles by in-air micro-IL analysis combined with micro-PIXE

A new external ion microbeam ion luminescence (micro-IL) imaging system was developed on a microbeam line of a 3 MV single-ended accelerator at the TIARA facility of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Micro-IL was combined with an in-air micro-PIXE (particle-induced X-ray emission) system to determine the chemical composition and structures of microscopic airborne particles of several micrometers in size. The hardware and software for the combined in-air micro-IL analysis system, called ion luminescence microscopic imaging and spectroscopy (ILUMIS), were studied. Wavelength-dispersive optics, including a collimator lens, a monochromator, and a photon-counting photomultiplier, were installed on the beam line. The signal processing of the IL photon signals, which were collected as spectra and two-dimensional microscopic images, was examined. Several aerosol particles were characterized to demonstrate the ILUMIS/PIXE combined analysis. The external microbeam ILUMIS analysis method provided a variety of information on the chemical and elemental composition of the micrometer-sized aerosol targets under ambient atmospheric conditions.