Compositional Analysis

Characteristic X-Ray Spectra

• X-rays are generated when an electron is removed from an orbital shell falls back into the empty space and an X-ray photon is emitted
• With the electron beam focused on a single point (spot scan), characteristic X-rays are produced from that spot
• The EDS detector captures, counts, and displays these as X-ray spectra
• The X-ray spectra acquired indicate elements that are present (composition)

INCA x-act X-ray Detector

INCAx-act LN2-free Analytical Silicon Drift Detector with PentaFET® Precision has six advantages:

• The Speed of a Silicon Drift Detector (>500,000cps)
• The Accuracy of the INCA Quant software
• The Reliability of an INCA x-stream pulse processor
• The Convenience of an LN2-free System
• The Quality of Oxford Instruments Technology
• The Precision of Oxford Instruments PentaFET® Technology

• Guaranteed carbon resolution in accordance with ISO 15632:2002!
• Stable, accurate results 10 times faster than conventional SDDs
• Accurate quantitative & qualitative analysis you can trust
• Superior light element detection at all count rates
• Fast, simple, andeffective mapping without pile-up problems
• Consistent signal output with increasing count rates

Composition: Point & ID

BSE image with quantitative point analysis and a corresponding EDS X-ray spectrum.

Composition: Elemental Mapping

Elemental mapping showing the relationship between vanadium with titanium and the inverse correlation of vanadium with calcium-bearing minerals.

Composition: Rare Phase Searches

Precious minerals are usually small and rare phases. The SEM can locate and identify precious minerals by automated searches.