Quantitative X-ray analysis of thin samples in Tem

Abstract

The intensity of characteristic x-rays /I i X / from thin self-supporting samples depends not only on the concentration /c/ of the excited element but also on the mass thickness /ƍD/ of the film: The k i factors can be determined on thin etalon films of known thickness. So as to carry out quantitative analysis of thin samples, it is necessary to measure the local ƍ D independently of the measurement of x-ray intensities. In this paper a method is described to determine the mass thickness of thin samples by electron transmission and their chemical composition by combining the x-ray intensity and electron transmission measurements. It is known that some polycrystalline films e.g. Au, Ag, Sb, Bi and Cu films, exhibit anomalous behaviour in the exponential dependence of electron transmission on ƍD. Therefore we have developed a method for the measurement of electron transmission which overcomes the influence of Bragg reflection electrons.