The reliability of the parameters obtained in the decomposition of two
overlapped Gaussian peaks has been studied both as a function of the
degree of overlapping between them and of the height and halfband widt
h ratios. To do this a method based on the examination of the elements
of dispersion matrix, obtained in a Gauss Newton non linear least squ
ares procedure has been adopted. This is a potent tool for pointing ou
t the functional dependence of the parameter errors on the set of nume
rical values defining the model and on the choice of experimental cond
itions. It has been shown that the ratio between halfband widths and t
he degree of overlapping of the bands are the leading factors affectin
g the reliability of results in this kind of curve decomposition.