Advanced form of ζ-factor method in analytical electron microscopy

This study describes development of the ζ-factor method proposed earlier. The development is attempted by incorporating the absorption correction term into the equation relating the mass thickness to the characteristic X-ray intensity. It is shown that the advanced form of the ζ-factor method reduces restriction encountered by the earlier form and thus enhances applicability of the ζ-factor method. The advanced form is applied to the Ni-Al binary system and the Ti-Al-Cr ternary system. This application demonstrates the validity of the advanced form of the ζ-factor method. The relation between the ζ factor and the k factor is discussed and an advantage of using the ζ-factor method is summarized.