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Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer: An Equipment for Accurate and Precise Micro-Composition Analysis

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Electron Microscopy in Science and Engineering

Part of the book series: IITK Directions ((IITKD,volume 6))

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Abstract

The concept of electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA) was conceived by Raymond Castaing in the late 1940s, and till today, EPMA remains the most accurate and precise tool for micro-composition analysis in materials, minerals, and geological samples. The purpose of this article is to give a brief introduction to EPMA as applicable for quantitative analysis of composition of a material. The article covers the history, working principles, and basic construction of EPMA in very brief and describes in some details the methodology of quantitative analysis carried out in wavelength dispersive spectroscopy mode by using standards. Various methods used for correcting the raw X-ray intensity data obtained from the spectrometers are explained including ZAF, Phi-Rho-Z, and calibration curve method. In order to illustrate the applications of EPMA in various fields, several case studies are presented in which EPMA was used as a major tool of microanalysis. The case studies cover range of materials including steels, titanium alloys, high-entropy alloys, nickel-based superalloys, and geological materials and minerals.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the generous support from various funding agencies and organizations with which the discussed case studies have been conducted: Indian Space Research Organization, General Motors USA, GE Research—Bangalore, GOALI grant from NSF and IIT Kanpur. Thanks to GE Research—Bangalore for providing the Nickel-based superalloy for the case study. The authors are also thankful to JEOL’s EPMA experts for useful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Kaustubh N. Kulkarni, Aparna Tripathi, Abhinav Varshney, Sandeep Sangal & Kallol Mondal

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, 462003, India

    Abhinav Varshney

  3. CSIR—National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500 007, India

    Jyoti Chandra

  4. Department of Earth Sciences, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Jyoti Chandra & Debajyoti Paul

  5. Advanced Center for Materials Sciences, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Siva Kumar

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  1. Kaustubh N. Kulkarni
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  2. Aparna Tripathi
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  3. Abhinav Varshney
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  4. Jyoti Chandra
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  6. Sandeep Sangal
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  8. Kallol Mondal
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Correspondence to Kaustubh N. Kulkarni .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Krishanu Biswas

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Sri Sivakumar

  3. Department Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    Nilesh Gurao

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Kulkarni, K.N. et al. (2022). Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer: An Equipment for Accurate and Precise Micro-Composition Analysis. In: Biswas, K., Sivakumar, S., Gurao, N. (eds) Electron Microscopy in Science and Engineering. IITK Directions, vol 6. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5101-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5101-4_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-5100-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-5101-4

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