Computer Program for Electron Probe Microanalysis

A FORTRAN computer program for calculating the chemical composition of a specimen from X-ray data measured with an electron probe microanalyzer is described. In the program, all data are corrected for dead time, background, absorption due to Philibert, atomic number due to Poole and Thomas and fluorescence due to Reed. Elements less than ten can be corrected at the same time in a specimen. The effects of the absorption, atomic number and fluorescence correction of each element in the specimen are easily seen from the output results. The computer output is used not only to know the composition but to classfy and store the X-ray data and the composition of the specimen. The program facilitates the comparison of calculating procedures as well as the evaluation of errors caused by uncertainties in the methods of correction and in the parameters used.