USGS Denver Microbeam Laboratory
As electrons enter the sample they are scattered by the atoms in the sample into what is called the interaction volume. Characteristic x-rays produced from the sample are generated within this volume. The size of the interaction volume is determined by the density of the sample and by the energy of the electron beam. In a typical geological sample with a beam energy of 15 thousand volts the interaction volume is approximately 2 micrometers in diameter. Even if the diameter of the electron beam entering the sample is much smaller than a micrometer, the electrons will be scattered and the lateral resolution of the analysis will be limited to the size of the interaction volume.
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Content information: Greg Meeker
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