The present state of quantitative X-ray microanalysis Part 1: Physical basis

Abstract

In the X-ray microanalyser the intensity of characteristic emission excited by electron bombardment of a selected point on the specimen surface can be measured to a high degree of accuracy. To a first approximation, the mass concentration of a given element can be obtained from the intensity of its characteristic emission by direct proportionality, but to match the accuracy of experimental measurement corrections must often be applied to this rule. These arise when elements widely different in atomic number are present, and when absorption and fluorescence effects within the specimen are significant. This paper attempts to correlate some of the methods proposed for evaluating these effects and deals particularly with the atomic number and absorption corrections, where divergencies in the literature are most marked.