Elemental Analysis Of Glass And Glass Ceramics With The Scanning Electron Microscope

An x-ray energy dispersive system consisting of lithium drifted silicon detector and a computer as a multichannel analyser is used to determine the elemental composition of glass, glass ceramic and other materials with the scanning electron microscope. In general all elements of atomic number 11 (sodium) or higher can be detected in selected microareas when present in amounts from 0.25 to 0.5% or higher. Resolution of the analysis site to volumes as small as approximately 2 um3 can be attained.