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EDS Measurements of X-Ray Intensity at WDS Precision and Accuracy Using a Silicon Drift Detector

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 July 2012

Nicholas W.M. Ritchie ,
Dale E. Newbury  and
Jeffrey M. Davis
Nicholas W.M. Ritchie*
Affiliation:
Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8372, USA
Dale E. Newbury
Affiliation:
Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8372, USA
Jeffrey M. Davis
Affiliation:
Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8372, USA
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: nicholas.ritchie@nist.gov
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Abstract

The accuracy and precision of X-ray intensity measurements with a silicon drift detector (SDD) are compared with the same measurements performed on a wavelength dispersive spectrometer (WDS) for a variety of elements in a variety of materials. In cases of major (>0.10 mass fraction) and minor (>0.01 mass fraction) elements, the SDD is demonstrated to perform as well or better than the WDS. This is demonstrated both for simple cases in which the spectral peaks do not interfere (SRM-481, SRM-482, and SRM-479a), and for more difficult cases in which the spectral peaks have significant interferences (the Ba L/Ti K lines in a series of Ba/Ti glasses and minerals). We demonstrate that even in the case of significant interference high count SDD spectra are capable of accurately measuring Ti in glasses with Ba:Ti mass fraction ratios from 2.7:1 to 23.8:1. The results suggest that for many measurements wavelength spectrometry can be replaced with an SDD with improved accuracy and precision.

Keywords

EPMAwavelength spectrometrysilicon drift detector (SDD)energy dispersive X-ray spectrometryelectron probe microanalysisWDSZAFquantitative correction
Type
Research Article
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , August 2012 , pp. 892 - 904
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2012

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