Filtern
Dokumenttyp
Schlagworte
- Morphology (2)
- Portuguese glazed ceramics (2)
- Blue pigment (1)
- Capillary (1)
- Coimbra (1)
- Composition (1)
- Compound refractive lens (1)
- Compound refractive lenses (CRLs) (1)
- Elemental composition (1)
- Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) (1)
This manuscript reviews the most used optical systems for X-ray microprobes and summarizes the experiences in research with synchrotron radiation as well as with X-ray tube generators.
The need for smaller beam spot sizes for various applications and the unique properties of X-rays have induced a remarkable and fast development in X-ray optical systems. These systems are divided into three main categories: diffractive, reflective and refractive. Examples of the three will be covered in this paper, highlighting the properties that allow having spot sizes down to sub-micrometer regime.
However, the extraordinary capabilities of such systems are always relative. Therefore, an overview of the techniques that use such optical systems will be given, emphasizing their applicability on several case studies.
Several glazed ceramic fragments (XVIth to XVIIIth centuries) from two production centers in Portugal (Coimbra and Lisbon) were the object of this study. The ones from Coimbra comprise two sets of samples: faiences and tiles. The ones from Lisbon are only tiles (azulejos, in Portuguese). The three main divisions of such pieces are the ceramic support (body), glaze and surface decoration. The system decoration/glaze is not easy to investigate, due to the high heterogeneity resulting from the mixing procedures and firing temperatures used. Moreover, the ability of the pigment to diffuse into the base glaze varies depending on the composition of both the pigment and the glaze in terms of fusibility. In order to raster these effects, high resolution techniques are required. In this work, synchrotron micro-X-ray fluorescence (µ-XRF) analysis was performed to monitor the profiles of the characteristic elements from the colors used and the glaze in well prepared cross-sections of the samples. Key elements are: Co for blue, Mn for purple, Cu for green, Sb for yellow, Pb for the glaze and Fe for the body. The major difference observed is that faiences have glaze thicknesses between 150 and 200 µm and tiles have glaze thicknesses between 350 and 400 µm. Furthermore, in faiences all the pigments except the yellow ones are well dispersed into the glassy matrix, while in tiles, all of them are just partially diffused throughout the glaze. However, differences between the tiles from Coimbra and Lisbon were observed. In the samples from Lisbon, a higher intake from the pigment throughout the glaze is observed.
Morphological and compositional features regarding blue and yellow pigments used in glazed ceramics from Portugal are investigated by means of a SEM/EDX system. Fragments of samples produced in the main pottery-making centres between the XVIXVIII centuries (Lisbon and Coimbra) were the objects of study. The main question to be answered is whether there are differences in the manufacturing procedures employed. For this purpose, two types of samples were analysed: faiences and wall-tiles (the famous 'Azulejos', in Portuguese). Differences between the manufacturing techniques of the two production centres were veritably found. The expected linkage between Fe–Co–Ni–As–Bi was challenging to investigate. Thus, Co was found in Fe- or Ni-rich structures, but with no structural connection to As or Bi. However, the As-needle-like structures were always identified in blue regions. One interesting finding related particularly to the blue pigment was the presence of SnO2 agglomerates throughout the whole glaze, which suggests its intentional addition for 'lightening' the well known dark Co blue. Concerning the yellow pigment differences established in the crystal shape and size are indicative of different firing temperatures used.