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Energy dispersive x-ray spectrometers in ultrahigh vacuum environments
The combination of an energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDS) with the ultrahigh vacuum environment of many modern electron microscopes requires the spectrometer designer to take extra precautions and presents the microscopist with the additional option of utilizing windowless spectrometers for light element detection while not worrying about contamination of the detector. UHV is generally defined as a pressure of better than 10{sup {minus}7} Pa and is necessary to prevent specimen modification by the components of the vacuum. UHV may also be defined as an environment in which the time to form a monolayer on the specimen is equal to or longer than the usual time for a laboratory measurement. This report examines performance of energy dispersion x-ray spectrometers in UHV.