3-DIMENSIONAL SCATTER DIAGRAMS - APPLICATION TO SURFACE ANALYTICAL MICROSCOPY

Multivariate statistical techniques, such as principal component analy sis and two-dimensional scatter diagrams, are increasingly being appli ed to multispectral images in analytical electron and X-ray microscopy . Combining data from different sources can often reveal more informat ion than would be obtained if each image was processed separately. Thr ee-dimensional data manipulation and visualisation tools are gaining p opularity in many scientific fields. However, three-dimensional scatte r diagrams are not yet being exploited much in analytical microscopy. This paper demonstrates the advantages of three-dimensional scatter di agrams and interactive correlation partitioning. An introduction to th e methodology is included. Examples using multi-element Anger and topo graphic images from the York multispectral analytical electron microsc ope (MULSAM) are presented. Implementation issues are discussed briefl y to help other workers who may wish to investigate the techniques. So me areas of future work are suggested.