'Multi-spectra glasses' for scanning electron microscopy
Friday, September 26, 2014 - 09:30
in Physics & Chemistry
The scanning electron microscope is not only used for precisely surveying the surface topology of samples, but also for determining their chemical compositions. This is done by exciting the atoms to fluoresce under irradiation by an electron beam while scanning the sample. This secondary emission provides information about the location and type of element, insofar as the analysis is sufficiently precise. However, the lighter elements of the periodic table such as lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, and nitrogen emit secondary fluorescence in an energy range that cannot be sufficiently well resolved by energy dispersive spectrometers (EDS).