SEMINAR      Monday, 30 May 2005 - h. 15:00  Auditorium B. Touschek     K. Janssens (Antwerp U.) Use of Conventional and Synchrotron X-Ray Micro Beams for Non-destructive Characterization of Archaeological, Archival and Artists materials Abstract    Microscopic X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (μ-XRF) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (μ-XAS) make use of penetrate microbeams of radiation. In this talk the principle and possible applications of confocal μ-XRF will be discussed as an alternative synchrotron-based three-dimensional analysis technique. The practical usefulness of the technique will be illustrated with examples from the biological, geological and cultural heritage areas. The ‘elemental analysis’ capabilities of two-dimensional μ-XRF can be readily extended towards obtaining chemical state information by the use of tunable monochromatic beams of primary radiation; in principle, in a similar manner, confocal μ-XANES allows performing it in three dimensions; a few examples of conventional and confocal μ-XANES in the cultural heritage and environmental sector will be shown. Finally, in a number of situations in the cultural heritage area, it is also useful to combine within the same compact instrument the ability to collect elemental and molecular information from a microscopic spot on an artifact or sample of interest. Such an approach has been realized in the PRAXIS instrument (Portable Raman X-ray Instrument) of which the design and some recent applications will be discussed.