Optimization of Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry Analysis Conditions

In setting up the conditions for quantitative wavelength-dispersive electron microprobe analysis a number of parameters have to be defined for each element, namely accelerating voltage, beam current, and (for each element) x-ray line, spectrometer crystal, pulse-height analyser settings, background offsets, and counting times for peak and background. The choices made affect both the reliability of the results and the time taken to obtain a complete analysis. It is difficult for even an experienced user to arrive at the optimum set of conditions for any particular application, in view of the large number of interacting factors involved. Furthermore, optimum choices of some parameters are dependent not only on the concentration of the element concerned (for example, counting times) but also the concentrations of other elements which may have peaks that interfere with peak and/or background measurements, requiring alternative selections of x-ray line or spectrometer crystal. The various factors involved in arriving at an optimum routine and practical possibilities for computer-aided optimization are discussed here.