4.5 Scatter peaks
In the case of using x-ray or gamma photons for the excitation of the sample, these photons will also undergo Rayleigh (elastic) and Compton (inelastic) scattering at the sample. As scatter takes place in all of the elements present in the sample, the scatter peaks are useful for data interpretation, since their intensity reflect information on the sample matrix.
As it was shown in 2.6.2 the scatter cross sections vary not only with the energy of the incoming radiation, but also with the atomic number of the scattering atom.
