IMPROVED, PARAMETERLESS, CONSTANT-CURRENT METHOD FOR ABSORPTION CORRECTION IN QUANTITATIVE EDX MICROANALYSIS IN THE TEM

Based on the parameterless constant-current method for absorption correction introduced by Horita and co-workers [Ultramicroscopy 21 (1987) 271] a new procedure for the data evaluation is outlined. This method does not require the simplification that all X-rays are generated in the middle of the foil (usually adopted by Horita et al.) and minimizes the number of background subtractions for the acquired spectra. Another method is briefly discussed which allows one to carry out absorption correction by recording spectra from the same specimen area but different tilt angles. This method, in contrast to a similar procedure described by Horita, does not require a constant-current mode of the microscope.