Variable Step Wavescan Options

EPMA Xtreme Probe

Variable Step Wavescan Options

For wavescan samples, the user may specify the use of variable wavescan steps. In this mode the program will acquire wavescan samples using a step size that is inversely proportional to the intensity using the following expression:

          where:               is the background count rate

                          is the current count rate

                     is the initial step size

 

From this we can see that the wavescan will begin with the initial step size and as the intensity increases (the peak), the step size will decrease according to the equation until the minimum step size specified is reached. This option may be useful in cases where improved accuracy is necessary on the peak maximum.

 

A new option “Use Inverted Intensity Steps” allows the user to perform exactly the opposite operation. That specify that the minimum step size will be used on the background intensities while the step size is increased for higher peak intensities. This is useful for characterizing the background regions without spending too much time on the peak regions..