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The Next Generation of EDS: Microcalorimeter Eds With 3 eV Energy Resolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

John M. Martinis
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, 80303
K. D. Irwin
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, 80303
D. A. Wollman
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, 80303
G. C. Hilton
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, 80303
L. L. Dulcie
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, 80303
N. F. Bergren
Affiliation:
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, 80303
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Extract

Semiconductor energy dispersive spectrometers (EDS), the most commonly used detectors for x-ray microanalysis, have matured to the point that significant improvement in energy resolution is not expected in the future. We believe a revolutionary advance in x-ray microanalysis will occur in the next few years due to the development of new x-ray spectrometers based on microcalorimeters. Energy resolution comparable with wavelength dispersive spectrometers, 3 eV to 10 eV, has already been achieved; future detectors may reach a fundamental limit as low as 0.5 eV to 1 eV.

In a microcalorimeter, the energy of an x-ray is converted into heat, and a measurement of the temperature rise of the detector gives the deposited photon energy. Our microcalorimeter detector consists of a superconducting transition edge thermometer cooled to an operating temperature of 100 mK by a compact adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator, a read-out SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) preamplifier followed by pulse-shaping amplifier and pile-up rejection circuitry, and a multi-channel analyzer with real-time computer interface.

Type
30 Years of Energy Dispersive Spectrometry in Microanalysis
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

1.Wollman, D. A. et al., J. Microscopy, 188 (1997) 196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Irwin, K. D. et al., in preparation.Google Scholar
3. Contribution of U.S. Government, not subject to copyright.Google Scholar