Mass determination of thin biological specimens using backscattered electrons. Application in quantitative X-ray microanalysis on an automated STEM system.

The capabilities of modern computerized X-ray analysis systems can be expanded to the acquisition of various signals available in the electron probe microanalyzer, in parallel with the X-rays. These facilities allow the use of backscattered electrons for the measurement of the total specimen mass thickness, which can be used in mass fraction calculations, up to a (biological) specimen thickness of 10 micron. A mass measurement procedure based on the use of backscattered electrons may become an alternative for the X-ray continuum normalization method, often used in electron probe X-ray microanalysis. A mass measurement procedure using backscattered electrons is described, and preliminary results are given.