Abstract:
Electron beam induced quantitative X-ray
mapping has become a very useful characterisation
tool for determining the elemental distribution in materials,
whether using energy dispersive spectroscopy or
wavelength dispersive spectroscopy. The X-ray intensity
distributions of the elements from an X-ray map
allow us to generate two dimensional and ternary scatter
diagrams thus converting spatial information into
concentration dimensions, which is an important tool
for displaying the spatial relationships of elements or
correlated elements (phases) in materials. To best
understand how to use this tool, we need to understand
the production and features of the scatter diagram. The
type of clustering observed in the scatter diagram,
whether oval, linear or spherical, can give the major
and trace element distributions within phases as well as
qualitative and quantitative phase information. This
paper demonstrates the generation of scatter diagrams,
properties of scatter diagrams, interpretation of scatter
diagrams and the advantages of scatter diagrams
through the use of examples.
