Berlin 2012 – scientific programme
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MI: Fachverband Mikrosonden
MI 5: X-ray spectrometry and analysis of works of art
MI 5.4: Talk
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 11:15–11:30, TA 201
Limits of detection of µ-XRF with the SEM/EDS for RoHS relevant elements — •Vanessa Rackwitz1, Markus Ostermann1, Ulrich Panne1,2, and Vasile-Dan Hodoroaba1 — 1BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, 12200 Berlin, Germany — 2Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
For the determination of the specimen elemental composition most modern Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) are equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). Based on the technological improvement of low-power X-ray tubes and X-ray polycapillary optics in the last few years a new analytical tool for SEM has been developed: micro-focus X-ray fluorescence µ-XRF. In order to evaluate the performance of the new µ-XRF with SEM/EDS systematically, the limits of detection (LoD) for trace element concentration in a set of ten plastic reference materials were under examination. The reference materials consist of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer (ABS) and have been doped with different contents of the elements Br, Cd, Cr, Hg and Pb. The interest for this kind of samples has its roots in the European Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, RoHS. Additionally, the LoD for defined conditions can also be predicted by means of forward calculations of µ-XRF spectra based on a physical model.