Design features of a high resolution microcalorimeter EDX system

High resolution, superconducting detectors allow energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) with energy resolution and energy threshold far beyond the levels obtained with semiconductor detectors. These cryogenic detectors are run at temperatures of less than 100 mK and combine the excellent energy resolution of wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometry (WDX) with the fast, energy dispersive analysis of EDX. CSP cryogenic spectrometer's microcalorimeter type EDX cryodetectors are equipped with a mechanical cooling system that runs vibration free and allows completely automated operations on scanning electron microscopes (SEMs), field emission guns (FEGs) and transmission electron microscopes (TEMs). This detector type offers new opportunities in material analysis, especially when low excitation energies are applied or light elements are to be determined.