Absorption correction and thickness determination using the ζ factor in quantitative X-ray microanalysis

A method is proposed for the absorption correction and thickness determination, both achieved simultaneously, in quantitative X-ray microanalysis of thin specimens using an analytical electron microscope. The method is developed by combining the extrapolation method and the differential X-ray absorption (DXA) method proposed earlier. In the combined form, the ζ factor is introduced which relates the mass thickness and the X-ray intensity normalized by the weight fraction. The proposed method, called the ζ-DXA method in this study, is applied to the NiAl binary system. Characteristic features of the ζ-DXA method are summarized in comparison with earlier methods for absorption correction.