Francis Reilly is director of sales and marketing at Matrix Metrologies, Inc., Holbrook, NY. He holds a bachelor's degree in applied physics from the State University of New York and a master's degree in economics and finance from the State University of California. Reilly has served the electroplating industry for more than 20 years as a spectroscopic instrument specialist. He can be reached at 631.472.2400 or by e-mail at freilly@matrixmetrologies.com. For more information about XRF analysis, visit www.matrixmetrologies.com.
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a powerful quantitative and qualitative tool ideally suited to analyzing film thickness and composition, determining elemental concentration by weight of solids and solutions, and identifying specific and trace elements in complex sample matrices. XRF analysis is used extensively in almost all industries, including metal finishing and refining, semiconductors, telecommunications and microelectronics, food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, plastics, rubbers, textiles, fuels, chemicals, and environmental fields. The wide deployment of XRF analysis tools in industry is the result of XRF's ability to perform noncontact, nondestructive tests with speed and precision, combined with a low cost of ownership compared to other measurement techniques.