X-ray mapping using multiple-EDS and WDS detectors

High quality x-ray mapping (XRM) has been used for over 30 years by experienced wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS) operators. Manufacturers have been developing similar techniques using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) over the last 20 years. This has been generally unsuccessful due to a number of problems such as poor computer specifications, cost, time to map and generally poor peak to background ratios (P:B). With improvements in all the above parameters EDS mapping is now gaining in popularity. Originally regions of interest mapping (ROIM) has been used but this has now been replaced with the more powerful quantitative x-ray mapping (QXRM). QXRM has become a very powerful technique enabling reliable quantitative results that can be an order of magnitude better than traditional analysis. It is also far superior to ROIM where low levels of an element or elemental overlaps are present.