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Desktop XRF Users: Gold, Jewelry & Precious Metals

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Desktop XRF for Precious Metals

The data shown in the table has been taken from the manufacturers’ brochures, product literature, and technical materials. The “?” indicates that the information has apparently not been published. If you find more recent or updated data, please let me know.

Download the chart below in JPG form:

Brand	From	Tube Voltage	Tube Current	Tube Power	Tube Anode	Detector Type	Detector Resolution	Detector Surface	Beam Filters	Collimators	Test Chamber W×D×H	Chamber Volume liter	Weight kg
BOWMAN G series	US	50 kV	1000 µA	50 W	W	SDD	<140 eV	○ ? ○	4 primary filters	Ø 3 mm / 1 mm	330 × 305 × 102	10.3	25
BRUKER CTX 800	US	50 kV	200 µA	4 W	Rh	SDD	< 145 eV @ 450 kcps	20 mm²	5-position automatic filter	Ø 3 / 5 / 8 mm	120 × 135 × 85	1.38	7.5
ELVATECH ElvaX Jewelry Lab	UA	40 kV	200 µA	4 W	W	SDD	<140 eV	30 mm²	primary Ti 400 µm	Ø 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 6.5 mm	185 × 212 × 90	3.5	7
EVIDENT Vanta GX	US	35 kV	50 µA	2 W	W	SDD	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	Ø 6 mm	177 × 173 × 94	2.9	10
HELMUT-FISCHER GOLDSCOPE SD® 520 DPP+	DE	50 kV	1000 µA	○ ? ○	W	SDD	<135 eV up to ~500 kcps	20 mm²	fixed Al 500 µm	fixed, standard: Ø 1 mm, option: Ø 0.6 / 2 mm	310 × 320 × 90	8.9	45
HELMUT-FISCHER GOLDSCOPE SD® 550 DPP+	DE	50 kV	1000 µA	○ ? ○	W	SDD	<135 eV up to ~500 kcps	20 mm² / 50 mm²	6-position: Ni 10 µm / no filter / Al 1000 / Al 500 / Al 100 / Mylar 100 µm	fixed or Ø 0.2 mm / 0.6 mm / 1.0 mm fixed or / 2.0 mm	310 × 320 × 90	8.9	45
PURERAY Gold Box	CN	50 kV	100 µA	5 W	W	SDD	< 125 ± 5 eV	25 mm²	○ ? ○	Ø 1.5 mm	263 × 139 × 58	2.1	6
PURERAY PRO	CN	50 kV	1000 µA	50 W	W	SDD	< 125 ± 5 eV	25 mm²	multiple filters	Ø 0.5 / 1.5 mm	374 × 344 × 155	19.9	42
PURERAY K5	CN	50 kV	1000 µA	○ ? ○	W	Si-PIN	<145 eV± 5 eV	6 mm²	○ ? ○	Ø 2.5 mm	297 × 294 × 80	7	0
SCIAPS Powerhouse PM	US	40 kV	○ ? ○	4 W	W	SDD	<170 eV	7 mm²	○ ? ○	Ø 3 mm	○ ? ○	0	8.8
SKYRAY CUBE 100 Portable	CN	40 kV	100 µA	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	SDD	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	Al, Ti, Cu	auto switch: Ø 1 mm / 2 mm / 4 mm	150 × 150 × 100	2.25	5
SPECTRO Scout Kt	US	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	SDD	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	0	11
SY KESSLER Gemoro Assay Lab	US	40 kV	200 µA	○ ? ○	Rh	SDD	<170 eV	7 mm²	○ ? ○	Ø 3 mm	○ ? ○	0	8.7
THERMO SCIENTIFIC Niton DXL	US	45 kV	80 µA	2 W	Ag	Si-PIN	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	Ø 8 mm / 3 mm	184 × 172 × 133	4.2	7.7
VRAY VR-M7	CN	50 kV	200 µA	○ ? ○	W	SDD	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	170 × 130 × 60	1.33	4.1
VRAY VR-T9	CN	50 kV	1000 µA	50 W	W, Au, Ag, Rh optional	SDD	< 125 eV	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	Ø 0.5 mm / 1 mm / 2 mm / 3 mm	368 × 304 × 78	8.73	47
VRAY VR-X6	CN	50 kV	1000 µA	○ ? ○	W	Si-PIN	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	○ ? ○	Ø 2.5 mm	310 × 220 × 75	5.1	31

Power — W
[W] = Voltage [kV] × Current [µA] / 1000 | P = U × I

Higher tube power means that the X-ray tube is capable of producing a higher X-ray photon flux.
This can allow for:

shorter measurement times,
better counting statistics,
improved detection of lower concentrations,
greater precision in certain measurement configurations.

However, this is only beneficial as long as the detector (SDD) is capable of processing the incoming photons efficiently.

An important factor is how many useful pulses the detector can process while maintaining adequate energy resolution. If a more powerful tube sends too many photons to a small SDD:

dead time increases,
pile-up may occur,
spectral quality may deteriorate,
the software may need to reduce the tube current.

A more powerful tube does not necessarily operate continuously at its maximum power.

Voltage — kV
The tube voltage primarily determines the maximum energy of the X-rays that can be generated. Higher kV means higher-energy primary photons. A higher tube voltage also provides greater flexibility, for example when exciting higher-energy spectral lines and when using different filter configurations. However, a higher kV rating does not automatically mean better analytical performance.

Current — µA
Tube current primarily affects the number of photons produced.

Higher µA → more photons → more counts → better counting statistics.

If an optimal count rate is already achieved at 200 µA, increasing the current to 1000 µA may provide little or no additional benefit.

Maximum tube voltage and maximum tube current may not be available simultaneously.

The real advantage of a 50 W tube is most likely to become apparent when:

a larger measurement spot is used,
strong beam filtration is applied,
very short measurement times are required,
the detector has a very high count-rate capability,
very low elemental concentrations need to be measured.

For determining the gold fineness of jewelry, however, the practical difference may be much less significant.

Gold’s historic rise: What’s behind the ups (and downs)? - BBC World Service (Aug 1, 2026.)

The earliest probable written reference to gold comes from Uruk in Mesopotamia and dates to approximately 3300–3000 BCE. One of the earliest completely unambiguous terms for gold appeared in First Dynasty Egypt around 3100 BCE: the hieroglyph for gold was already in use at the very beginning of Egyptian writing. Gold also appears near the very beginning of human history in the biblical narrative. When describing the rivers flowing out of the Garden of Eden, the Book of Genesis mentions the land of Havilah: “…where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good.” — Genesis 2:11–12 In the original Hebrew text, the word zahav means “gold,” while tov means “good,” “excellent,” or “valuable.”