Abstract
A simple method has been developed which allows an accurate determination of the thickness of any thin specimen microvolume irradiated by an electron beam. The determination of the thickness of such an irradiated region is based upon a single measurement of the generated continuum X-radiation in a standard. When this continuum integral is placed in ratio with the calculated energy loss suffered by the primary electron beam traversing the standard, the ratio may be employed as a correction factor for a given set of electron optical parameters (keV, beam current etc.). A suitable standard for this method is an evaporated metal film. Provided the thickness of the standard employed is known (or can be calculated), the correction can be considered absolute. If the absolute thickness of the standard is not accurately known this method is still applicable, and in this case the thickness calculations can be considered relative, one to another. This technique has been successfully applied in a series of measurements using vacuum deposited metal films at both low and high accelerating voltages (20–100keV) in a variety of electron microscopes equipped with X-ray analytical capabilities.
Published Version
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