The spatial resolution of X-ray microanalysis in the scanning transmission electron microscope

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Abstract
The spatial resolution of X-ray microanalysis within thin foils in the scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), interfaced with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, has been analysed. The electron beam divergence within the foil has been described analytically and the resulting X-ray intensity profiles have been numerically evaluated for a range of simple elemental composition distributions within the foil. The effects of incident electron probe diameter, electron accelerating voltage and foil thickness on the measured X-ray intensity ratio profiles are considered and discussed.