Considerations in the Use of "Quick" Standards

EPMA Xtreme Probe

Considerations in the Use of "Quick" Standards

Although the use of "quick" standardizations can save considerable time, it is important to remember, that a complete acquisition (and hence analysis) of a standard enables the analyst to note the accuracy (Ziebold, 1967) of secondary standard elements and to observe on-peak and off-peak interferences. In addition, the complete acquisition (Use Quick Standards not checked) of data on standards used for the quantitative interference corrections is essential for this feature to work correctly if they have not been previously assigned.

 

However, sometimes for well characterized samples, it is feasible to acquire standard data only for those channels that are used as the assigned standard element for that channel. In these "quick" standardizations, Probe for EPMA will skip elements that do not contain any assigned elements for that standard.

In a typical run, one would normally acquire standard samples without the use of the "Quick" standards option. The resulting data can then be checked for interferences and background anomalies. Once these concerns have been addressed, then subsequent standardizations can be acquired using the "quick" standards option to save time.