ABSTRACT
This chapter describes interaction of X-rays with matter. When the scattered beam is employed, Compton, coherent, and diffraction imaging, respectively, are obtained and X-ray fluorescence microscopy when the characteristic X-rays emitted by the elements present in the sample are processed and mapped. The interactions of X-rays with matter contribute to the attenuation of an X-ray beam when crossing a sample. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is based on the irradiation of a sample with a beam of X-rays of the proper energy, giving rise, through the photoelectric effect, to the emission of secondary X-rays characteristic of the chemical elements present in the sample. The advantage of XRF-imaging is that it is able to selectively determine the distribution of single chemical elements inside a sample, at a minimum detection limit that depends on the measuring characteristics. Monte Carlo algorithms are probabilistic methods able to mimic a real experiment/event. They find application in many areas that of simulating X-ray experiments.
