Quantification Of Actinides By EPMA: a New Accurate Standardless Approach

Electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) is used to quantify with a high accuracy the amount of different elements present on a sample of unknown composition. In the nuclear field, EPMA is largely used to quantify the amount of actinides present in fresh and irradiated fuels. EPMA is also used to manage waste disposal, to analyze sample from severe accidents and to assess the design of next-generation fuels. However, quantitative EPMA is not always possible to achieve for these materials due to the lack of suitable reference standards for the radionuclides (e.g. americium or curium). To overcome this difficulty, standardless methods of analysis are employed with mean of virtual calculated standards. These calculated standards are generally obtained from empirical formulae based on experimental extrapolations or from theoretical calculations that require physical parameters which are poorly known as it is the case for the x-ray production cross section.