The calculation of background in wavelength‐dispersive electron microprobe analysis

A procedure has been developed for the calculation of background corrections in wavelength‐dispersive electron microprobe analysis which reduces data acquisition times and offers the possibility of greater accuracy and lower detection limits, especially when the number of peaks concerned is large. An empirical ‘normalized background’ in conjunction with a modified version of Kramers' law (as developed for energy‐dispersive analysis) is used to calculate continuum intensity, enabling the background to be estimated for any wavelength from a single measured value. This approach is compatible with modern trends towards automation of data acquisition and processing.