Detecting Difficult Minor Elements in Particle Samples by SEM-EDS

One empirical way to develop confidence in detection limits is to run samples consisting of challenging materials. One class of challenging materials includes the series of NIST glasses containing varying amounts of Ti in a Ba, Si oxide matrix. Barium and titanium have a particularly challenging overlap in the characteristic line families that are typically used to quantify these elements, the Ti K and Ba L line families. The NIST glasses contain between 1.7 % and 16.2 % Ti by mass, 43.0 % Ba by mass with the remaining mass fraction consisting of Si and O.