Technical Contact: John Small

About the Group

The Microanalysis Research Group consists of about 15 full-time, post doc, student and guest member staff that perform research into the development of microbeam analysis techniques. For over 40 years the group has been active in developing quantitative correction procedures, new analytical instrumentation and detector systems, and innovative analytical approaches for x-ray and electron beam microanalysis. We work as a team with the Analytical Microscopy Group which has a concentrated effort in ion beam mass spectrometry methods.

To learn about ways to work with this group go to opportunities.

About Our Research and Facilities

The groups main research thrusts are in measurement and standards related to:

• Electron beam Microanalysis
• X-ray beam Methods
• Image Analysis, Quantitative X-ray Methods (also see Software)
• Microanalysis Reference Materials
• Reference Data
• International Standards

The group applies these measurement approaches to solving problems in a number of technology areas:

• Semiconductor Characterization
  

• Particle Analysis
  

• Chemical Characterization of Materials
• Nanoscale Characterization

About Microbeam Analysis

Microbeam analysis refers to analytical techniques which can analyze selected small volumes of a sample, where the size of the region analyzed has dimensions of the order of 1 micrometer down to less than a nanometer. This spatial selectivity is achieved by focusing radiation in a scanning beam microscope or a conventional microscope. Depending on the specific technique, the primary excitation radiation may be electrons, photons, or ions, and the secondary analytical radiation may be photons (x-rays or visible light), electrons, or ionized sample atoms. Elemental and molecular microanalysis is achieved by employing an appropriate form of spectrometry to analyze the emitted secondary radiation. An important aspect of all of the following techniques is that they combine analysis information with imaging information. Applying these microbeam methods allows complete characterization of morphology, crystallography, elemental, isotopic, and molecular composition can be achieved.

Example Technical Activity Reports

• A New Monte Carlo Application for Complex Sample Geometries
• Quantitative Analysis of Submicrometer Particles in the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Utilizing the ζ Factor Approach
• Detection of Trace Anthropogenic Contamination in Aquatic Ecosystems using Fluorescence Excitation-Emission Maxtrix Spectroscopy
• Improved Energy Stability in the NIST Microcalorimeter X-ray Detector
• Rapid Searching of Spectrum Image Databases for Rare Events
• XML for Microanalysis
• Temperature Control Improves NIST X-ray Detector
• Analyzing the Tough Ones: Quantitative X-ray Microanalysis of Extreme Topography
• Monte Carlo Methods For Optimizing The Quantitative Analysis Of Thin Layers, Microparticles And Irregular Surfaces
• Thickness Measurements of SEMATECH Gate Dielectrics by GIXPS
• New Boron Substrates for Particle Microanalysis
• Phase Identification from sub 200 nm particles by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD)
• Phosphor Imaging Plate Measurements of Primary Electron Beam Broadening in the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope
• Chemical Characterization of Magnetic Materials at High Spatial Resolution
• Logarithmic 3-Band Color Encoding: A Robust Method for Visualizing Compositional Information in X-ray Maps Measured in Scanning Electron Microscopes
• Analytical Electron Microscopy of Ultrathin Gate Dielectric Films on Silicon
• Characterization of the Morphology of Voids in Rutile Nanoparticles
• Fabrication and Electron Microprobe Characterization of Barium-Strontium-Titanate (BST) Films
• New Databases for Surface Analysis by Auger-Electron Spectroscopy and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy