EDS microanalysis or nanoanalysis in the electron microscope has traditionally been limited by spatial resolution and light element / low energy performance. The current generation of XFlash® silicon drift detectors, that are part of Bruker’s QUANTAX EDS spectrometer, provide excellent energy resolution, also in the low energy range. These detectors are therefore perfectly suited to separate the many element peaks in that energy range. In order to facilitate secure identification of light elements and low energy lines of heavy elements that are present in the range below 1 keV the atomic database has been updated to include many of those lines that are missing in other commonly used databases.
Excellent energy resolution and identification are the basis for reliable quantification in the low energy range. The other precondition is quantitative analysis software that is suited for the special analytical conditions in the low energy range. The QUANTAX’ ESPRIT software suite has therefore been upgraded with the new TQuant standardless light element quantification. Analysis at the very low energy end of the X-ray spectrum can be performed with ESPRIT’s standard-based routines.
In summary it is now also possible to perform accurate quantitative EDS analysis not only in the light element / low energy range but also at spatial resolutions in the nanometer range: Low beam energies in the electron microscope, which produce only small excitation volumes, can now be safely used for quantitative analysis.