Moy Aurélien, Fournelle John
Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI53706, USA.
Microsc Microanal. 2021 Apr;27(2):284-296. doi: 10.1017/S1431927620024927.
Since the 1960s, thicknesses and compositions of thin-film specimens have been determined by using the nondestructive technique of electron probe microanalysis. This approach, refined in the 1990s, is based upon models of the ionization depth distribution, the so-called ϕ(ρz) distribution, and is capable of analyzing layered specimens. Most of these quantification models have led to commercial programs. However, these programs may have possible limitations: some may not be directly compatible with modern computers, they often are “black boxes” making it difficult to assess the reliability of the results, and they are sometimes expensive enough to restrain many labs from purchasing them. We present a user-friendly, free, open-source program, BadgerFilm, implementing a documented ϕ(ρz) model and algorithms allowing the quantification of stratified samples. The program has the ability to calculate absolute X-ray intensities that can be directly compared with Monte Carlo simulations. We give a detailed explanation for the operation of the employed ϕ(ρz) model in thin films. A wide range of detailed Monte Carlo simulations and experimental data have been used to evaluate and validate the accuracy of the implemented algorithms. BadgerFilm demonstrated excellent quantification results for the films and in many cases for the substrates.
自20世纪60年代以来，薄膜样品的厚度和成分一直通过电子探针微分析这一非破坏性技术来确定。这种方法在20世纪90年代得到完善，它基于电离深度分布模型，即所谓的ϕ(ρz)分布，并且能够分析分层样品。这些量化模型大多已发展为商业软件。然而，这些软件可能存在一些局限性：有些可能与现代计算机不直接兼容，它们往往是“黑匣子”，使得难以评估结果的可靠性，而且有时价格昂贵，限制了许多实验室购买。我们展示了一个用户友好、免费的开源程序BadgerFilm，它实现了一个有文档记录的ϕ(ρz)模型和算法，可对分层样品进行量化。该程序能够计算可直接与蒙特卡罗模拟相比较的绝对X射线强度。我们对薄膜中所采用的ϕ(ρz)模型的运行进行了详细解释。已使用大量详细的蒙特卡罗模拟和实验数据来评估和验证所实现算法的准确性。BadgerFilm在薄膜以及许多情况下在基底方面都展示了出色的量化结果。
