Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week for 2 weeks, 4 hours / session

Description

The electron microprobe provides a complete micrometer-scale quantitative chemical analysis of inorganic solids. The method is nondestructive and utilizes characteristic X-rays excited by an electron beam incident on a flat surface of the sample. This course provides an introduction to the theory of X-ray microanalysis through wavelength and energy dispersive spectrometry (WDS and EDS), ZAF matrix correction procedures and scanning electron imaging with back-scattered electron (BSE), secondary electron (SE), X-ray using WDS or EDS (elemental mapping), and cathodoluminescence (CL). Lab sessions involve hands-on use of the JEOL JXA-8200 Superprobe.

Prerequisites

Permission of instructor.

Theory of X-ray Spectrometry

Electron-specimen interactions
- Elastic scattering: Electron backscattering
- Inelastic scattering: Secondary electron excitation, Cathodoluminescence, Continuum X-ray generation, Characteristic X-ray generation
- Interaction volume
Matrix corrections
- Atomic number, Absorption and Characteristic fluorescence corrections
- Continuum fluorescence correction
- φ(ρz) corrections

Instrumentation

Detectors in the electron microprobe
- Electron detectors: Everhart-Thornley and Solid-state diode detectors
- Cathodoluminescence detector
- X-ray detectors: Energy dispersive and Wavelength dispersive spectrometers
- Analyzing crystals and proportional counters in WDS