Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy

With modern detectors and electronics most Enei -Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) systems can detect X rays from all the elements in the periodic table above beryllium, Z= 4, if present in sufficient quantity. The minimum detection limit (MDL) for elements with atomic numbers greater than Z = 11 is as low as 0.02% wt., if the peaks are isolated and the spectrum has a total of at least 2.5 X 10 counts. In practice, however, with EDS on an electron microscope, the MDL is about 0.1% wt. because of a high background count and broad peaks. Under conditions in which the peaks are severely overlapped, the MDL may be only 1—2% wt. For elements with Z < 10, the MDL is usually around 1—2% wt. under the best conditions, especially in electron-beam instruments. 

Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy has been used for quality control and test analysis in many industries including computers, semiconductors, metals, cement, paper, and polymers. EDS has been used in medicine in the analysis of blood, tis-... 

XRF is closely related to the EPMA, energy-dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and total reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TRXF), which are described elsewhere in this encyclopedia. Brief comparisons between XRF and each of these three techniques are given below. 

Wavelength Dispersive (X-Ray) Spectroscopy Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy... 

Before the development of semiconductor detectors opened the field of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in the late nineteen-sixties crystal-spectrometer arrangements were widely used to measure the intensity of emitted X-rays as a function of their wavelength. Such wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometers (WDXS) use the reflections of X-rays from a known crystal, which can be described by Bragg s law (see also Sect. 4.3.1.3)... 

Fig. 4.21. Schematic diagram of spectrometer arrangements for wavelength-dispersive and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (WDXS/EDXS) in electron microscopy.

The combined use of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and TEM/STEM is a routine method of analytical electron microscopy enabling both qualitative and quantitative chemical analysis of interfaces and interlayers with high lateral resolution. Reso-... 

Film-forming chemical reactions and the chemical composition of the film formed on lithium in nonaqueous aprotic liquid electrolytes are reviewed by Dominey [7], SEI formation on carbon and graphite anodes in liquid electrolytes has been reviewed by Dahn et al. [8], In addition to the evolution of new systems, new techniques have recently been adapted to the study of the electrode surface and the chemical and physical properties of the SEI. The most important of these are X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), SEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), FTIR, NMR, EPR, calorimetry, DSC, TGA, use of quartz-crystal microbalance (QCMB) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). 

Linear absorption measurements can therefore give the first indication of possible alloy formation. Nevertheless, in systems containing transition metals (Pd-Ag, Co-Ni,. ..) such a simple technique is no longer effective as interband transitions completely mask the SPR peak, resulting in a structurless absorption, which hinders any unambiguous identification of the alloy. In such cases, one has to rely on structural techniques like TEM (selected-area electron diffraction, SAED and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, EDS) or EXAFS (extended X-ray absorption fine structure) to establish alloy formation. 

Hill, A. D., A. H. Lehman, H. Arm, and M. L. Parr (2007), Using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy to analyze archaeological materials, J. Chem. Educ. 84(5), 810-813. 

---