Dead time corrected and charge normalised maps generated with the MicroDasfast data acquisition system

A new data acquisition system, called MicroDas, is capable of collecting da ta at rates of up to 100 k counts per second per station. To correct for th e large dead times that are implicitly inherent with such high data rates, dead time information is also collected for each station. Since the count r ate varies with different scan regions of a sample, dead time information i s collected for each pixel of each station. To generate quantitative charge normalised maps of spectral features, charge information is also collected using an ultra sensitive charge-to-frequency converter. To evaluate this n ew system, examples are provided that demonstrate the improvement to maps w hen dead time and charge information are used to correct the original raw e nergy data. We conclude that the most quantitative accurate maps are genera ted when charge triggering with beam blanking is used, (C) 2001 Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.