Problems of automatic qualitative X-ray fluorescence analysis: Part one

The first three stages of the automatic qualitative X‐ray fluorescence analysis: scanning of the spectrum, smoothing of the spectrum and approximation of the background are described. Considerations about optimal smoothing of the spectrum are presented using the different features of analytical lines and noise. A function well approximating the background intensity in dependence on the wavelength is found, and a method for background construction from the minima in the spectrum is discussed.