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K-Factor Standards for Low-Z Quantification

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

Ray Egerton  and
Marek Malac
Ray Egerton
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, CanadaT6G 2J1
Marek Malac
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, CanadaT6G 2J1
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Extract

Although elements of low atomic number (Z<11) are detectable in TEM specimens using a modem energy-dispersive (EDX) detector, quantification remains a challenge. Problems include the large absorption corrections needed for specimens of typical thickness and the need for calibration specimens which provide k-factors appropriate to a particular detector/window arrangement. We have addressed this second problem by fabricating thin films containing several light elements in combination with silicon, which typically acts as the reference element when specifying k-factors.

Because the EDX peaks of adjacent light elements overlap considerably, it is preferable to have two specimens: one containing C, O and Si, the other B, N, F and Si. We have used both e-beam evaporation and sputtering techniques to deposit thin films on a substrate which can later be removed to leave a freestanding film mounted on a TEM grid.

Type
Problem Elements and Spectrometry Problems in X-Ray Microanalysis
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 4 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis '98, Microscopy Society of America 56th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 32nd Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia July 12-16, 1998 , July 1998 , pp. 230 - 231
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

1.Williams, D.B. and Carter, C.B., Transmission Electron Microscopy, volume IV (Spectrometry) New York Plenum (1996) 608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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